FLEET managers have condemned the Government's 'woolly' and 'half-cocked' approach to the changes to the current VED system. Many fear a hidden 'catch' with promises of VED reductions, but no talk of increases to allow the Treasury to recoup lost revenue.

Nigel Trotman, Whitbread's central services manager, said: 'The Government seems to have some very good ideas, but it is not sure how to implement them and has come up with this consultation document to try to work it out. 'Perhaps it ought to start by establishing what an environmentally-friendly car is, then it might stand a better chance of coming up with the complex grading systems it seems intent on introducing. At the moment the only impression I get is that it is going off half-cocked.'

Trotman says this is illustrated by the report's references to diesel, highlighting its lower CO2 emissions than petrol, but in other sections stating the dangers of higher particulate emissions. Ron Eagle, fleet manager of Trinity, a regional newspaper publisher, runs a fleet of 1,300 cars and says his biggest concern is how the Government is going to recover the lost revenue from the tax reductions. He said: 'Almost the entire fleet would be eligible for the lowest tax level. I would like to know, assuming a £50 reduction in VED on each vehicle, how the Government is going to recover this £50,000 a year it is losing from this fleet alone. There must be some catch.'