ESSENTIAL-use company car drivers may be exempted from plans to charge drivers to enter towns and cities or use congested roads. Congestion charging is aimed at discouraging drivers who have a viable alternative method of transport and not punishing those who rely on their vehicle for work, according to Nicky Gavron, chairman of the Local Government Association's planning committee.

She said councils might be prepared to make vital concessions to fleets during discussions on what they wanted to achieve from congestion charging and workplace car park charges. She said: 'We will have to examine situations where the person has a job that necessitates them getting around and that could mean exemption from charges for certain drivers. There would have to be some sort of protection for them, perhaps in the form of a special licence.'