Chancellor Rachel Reeves has created a new car tax exemption in the Budget following lobbying from two members of Parliament.
The Chancellor unveiled the Autumn Budget yesterday, which featured a number of changes impacting motorists, including car taxes, fuel duty and more.
Electric cars will soon have to pay 3p per mile, while plug-in hybrid owners will be charged 1.5p per mile, as part of the new Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED).
However, another tax change went under the radar, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves announcing in front of a packed House of Commons that further changes would be introduced.
Rachel Reeves announced that she wanted to reform motoring taxes, including exempting search and rescue vehicles from Vehicle Excise Duty.
The Member of Parliament for Leeds West and Pudsey thanked two Labour MPs for their support in calling for the tax exemptions.
She personally thanked Torcuil Crichton, who represents Na h-Eileanan an Iar (formerly Western Isles) in Scotland, and the MP for Whitehaven and Workington, Josh MacAlister.
The Government will exempt search and rescue vehicles from VED, and will work with stakeholders to “design and implement an exemption” from April 2027.
The Chancellor introduced a new tax exemption for Vehicle Excise Duty
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Commenting on the new rules, Josh MacAlister described it as a “campaign success”, noting that it would save his own mountain rescue team around £2,000 a year.
He added: “Because these search and rescue organisations are entirely funded through donations, that will make a big difference in lifting the burden on fundraising off some of those teams.
“[It means] they can focus on the job they do so well, which is making sure they keep the public safe.
“This is the change that can happen when you’ve got a local campaigning MP focusing on issues, getting them onto the desk of decision makers like the Chancellor.”
“I’m really pleased that myself and other MPs involved in the Search and Rescue APPG have been able to get this over the line today,” Mr MacAlister added.
Similarly, Torcuil Crichton MP thanked Chancellor Rachel Reeves “to the hills”, adding that the exemption proved she was supporting volunteers.
Mr Crichton and Mr MacAlister were instrumental in setting up the Search and Rescue All-Party Parliamentary Group last year.
The APPG is supported by Mountain Rescue England and Wales (MREW), Scottish Mountain Rescue (SMR), British Cave Rescue Council (BCRC), Lowland Rescue, Independent Lifeboats, Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), and the Voluntary Coastguard.
Torcuil Crichton MP thanked the Chancellor for her work to exempt search and rescue vehicles from VED
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The Chancellor outlined further plans to introduce tax measures in the Budget, including the controversial pay-per-mile taxes for electric and plug-in hybrid cars.
The Budget also outlined that Vehicle Excise Duty rates for cars, vans and motorcycles would be uprated in line with RPI from April 1, 2026.
Similar VED changes will apply to heavy goods vehicles from April, while the HGV levy will also be uprated in line with RPI.