FEARS that legislative overload may lead the Government to put transport initiatives on a back-burner have led environmental lobby group Transport 2000 Trust to demand immediate company car tax reform. The pressure group says it is responding to rumours that Tuesday's Queen's Speech will see Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott accused of failing to keep promises made in July's integrated transport white paper.

Transport 2000 was asked by the Inland Revenue for its opinions as part of an informal consultative process on company car taxation. Phil Parker, Transport 2000's taxation campaigner, said: 'Everyone knows the Government has got a very full legislative programme next year and there are rumours that it could be another year before transport measures, such as empowering local authorities to introduce workplace parking charges or congestion charges, get parliamentary time.

'If this happens it could be three or four years before local authorities could have these extra powers We are very keen to see that measures promised in the white paper get legislative time as soon as possible.'

Rumours that white paper initiatives would be left out of legislation initially surfaced more than two months ago, but were dismissed by Prescott as 'journalistic tittle-tattle'.