Agenda item

          On 7 March 2018, Council received a report which considered and responded to issues raised on the operation of the Road User Charging Scheme Order (RUCSO) for the Mersey Gateway and Silver Jubilee Bridge tolled crossings.

          The Council unanimously resolved to conduct a consultation on a proposed revised RUCSO, which ran from 8 to 29 March 2018. The Mersey Gateway Crossings Board had prepared a report on the consultation responses. As a result of representations received after the publication of the original agenda, a Supplemental Report to Council was published prior to the meeting, which asked the Council to make the RUCSO in the form as set out in the Appendix.

          The Mayor deemed that this information was sufficiently important to be considered as a matter of urgency.

          UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED: That Council

1)    confirm that no further consultation is required in respect of the updated RUCSO;

2)    confirm that no public inquiry is required to be held into the making of the updated RUCSO;

3)    make the updated RUCSO in the form (or substantially the same form) as that in the Appendix tabled at the meeting, and delegate to the Operational Director, Legal and Democratic Services, the authority to make any non-material or consequential amendments as are necessary to enable the updated RUCSO to be made;

4)    leave the toll charges unchanged – as specified in the updated RUCSO;

5)    amend the Halton Local User Discount Scheme (LUDS) Hardship Scheme as proposed in paragraph 5.1 of the report, so as to become the HLUDSS and address the anomaly in respect of disabled Halton residents as proposed in paragraph 5.4 of the report; and

6)    leave administration Fees in respect of registering with Mersey Gateway/Merseyflow unchanged.