CRT Licensing Review final report

[TheBiscuits]

 

Hello,   I’m dropping you a line to let you know that we’ve just published the changes we will be making to boat licensing following a near year-long consultation. We really appreciate the input from over 11,000 boaters who got in touch to give us their views and help us develop a fairer licensing system.   The headline changes, to be phased in over five years from April 2019, are that: Boaters who currently receive a prompt payment discount will see that retained but this discount will be reduced from 2019 and, from 2020, part of this discount will apply for those who manage their payments online and part for automated payment methods (for example by credit/debit card or by direct debit). An additional charge, of up to 20%, will be levied on wider boats, to be phased in over the five years. There will be three pricing bands for boat width in addition to the existing bands for boat length, which remain unchanged. With the exception of the discount for electric boating, which will be reviewed to see if it can more explicitly encourage greener boating, all other discounts available, including for historic boats, charity boats, and unpowered butties, will remain unchanged. There will be no difference in licence fees for boats without a home mooring.  Instead, the Trust will be undertaking further work to develop a fair means of reflecting the benefits experienced by boaters without home moorings who remain in the most popular places like London. To read the changes in full, and a summary of the consultation, please visit our website.    Best wishes, Damian Kemp Boating communications manager

Edited March 6, 2018 by TheBiscuits
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[frangar]

I was just about to post this......I await the howls....

[Naughty Cal]

We need to lose a ft of width from ours before April 2019

[TheBiscuits]

The actual report is at

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/refresh/media/thumbnail/35602-licensing-futures-decision-summary-response.pdf

[Lily Rose]

Just been reading this. The headline summary doesn't quantify it but the detail says the prompt payment discount of 10% will reduce to 5% from April 2019 and half of that will be dependent on the payment method.

Also supplements of 10% for wider boats and 20% for very wide (over 10 and a half foot I tnink) phased in over 5 years.

[rusty69]

4 minutes ago, Naughty Cal said:

We need to lose a ft of width from ours before April 2019

2020 surely

[TheBiscuits]

5 minutes ago, Naughty Cal said:

We need to lose a ft of width from ours before April 2019

I thought you wanted a bigger and wider boat!

[frangar]

I think the wide surcharge is VERY reasonable....especially when compared to the EA. I wouldn’t have been shocked if it was more. 

[Detling]

could be worse

[Athy]

It looks fairly reasonable on the whole - though I wonder if a change which gives people less incentive to pay their bills promptly is really progress.

[TheBiscuits]

1 minute ago, Athy said:

It looks fairly reasonable on the whole - though I wonder if a change which gives people less incentive to pay their bills promptly is really progress.

They are keeping it but at 5% instead of 10%, which still seems quite generous compared to savings account rates.

In future years, it will become 2.5% for licencing online and 2.5% for paying by card or direct debit, so still a 5% discount for reducing administration.

[Mac of Cygnet]

3 minutes ago, Athy said:

It looks fairly reasonable on the whole - though I wonder if a change which gives people less incentive to pay their bills promptly is really progress.

The prompt payment discount always seemed generous to me, but of course it was introduced when interest rates were much higher than today.  Our Council Tax prompt payment discount was vastly reduced several years ago.

[Machpoint005]

No great complaints from me -- it could have been so much worse.

[MtB]

Just now, Machpoint005 said:

No great complaints from me -- it could have been so much worse.

 

The 20% extra for Widebeam boats is easily raised to something more equitable once the principle is established. 

[rgreg]

This looks fair to me but I'm sure some people will find things to moan about.

[frangar]

2 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

The 20% extra for Widebeam boats is easily raised to something more equitable once the principle is established. 

Hopefully yes!! 

[MtB]

Just now, frangar said:

Hopefully yes!! 

 

One extra seventh for each extra foot of width would seem about right. 

Above 7ft that is!

[TheBiscuits]

Just now, Mike the Boilerman said:

One extra seventh for each extra foot of width would seem about right. 

Above 7ft that is!

I was sorry to see that the width surcharges start at 7'1" and not at 6'11"

Just imagine the screams from the historic boaters

 

[Naughty Cal]

2 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

I was sorry to see that the width surcharges start at 7'1" and not at 6'11"

Just imagine the screams from the historic boaters

 

That will capture quite a few smaller grp boats into the next width bracket though.

29 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

2020 surely

Excellent. An extra 12 months to rub some width off. 

[KevMc]

5 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

I was sorry to see that the width surcharges start at 7'1" and not at 6'11"

Just imagine the screams from the historic boaters

 

Since LOA includes bow and stern fenders ... will width have to include any fenders dangling from the side of a boat ?

Edited March 6, 2018 by KevMc
typo

[TheBiscuits]

6 minutes ago, Naughty Cal said:

That will capture quite a few smaller grp boats into the next width bracket though.

Yes, especially boat shaped ones rather than bathtub shaped ones.

I have never understood exactly why the licence on a 70' boat is only twice the licence fee of an 16' boat though.

Maybe now we have the width surcharge principle it could be extended to length in later years.

0-30' boat - no surcharge.

30'-50' boat - 10% surcharge

50'+ boat - 20% surcharge.

Edited March 6, 2018 by TheBiscuits
Give 'em an extra 5 feet!

[Machpoint005]

4 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

I have never understood exactly why the licence on a 70' boat is only twice the licence fee of an 16' boat though.

Why not: they both use the same amount of water in a lock*, even if the bigger one displaces more water. It's a fixed part plus a variable part, a bit like a standing charge plus fuel used calculation.

 

 

* unless the little one is sharing lengthwise

Edited March 6, 2018 by Machpoint005
see *

[Alan de Enfield]

It just goes to prove that the 'discussion / review' was pretty much a waste of time - C&RT had already decided, as evidenced by this statement :

Notwithstanding the majority in favour of a change, the Trust does not propose to introduce a different licence fee for boats without a home mooring........

 

[TheBiscuits]

Just now, Machpoint005 said:

Why not: they both use the same amount of water in a lock, even if the bigger one displaces more water. It's a fixed part plus a variable part, a bit like a standing charge plus fuel used calculation.

So why not the same flat rate licence fee for all boats?

[Machpoint005]

5 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

0-50' boat - no surcharge.

50'-60' boat - 10% surcharge

60'+ boat - 20% surcharge.

My version!

Just now, TheBiscuits said:

So why not the same flat rate licence fee for all boats?

Because the bigger one occupies more space - sorry if that wasn't clear.