The Government has ruled out any chance that millions paid by Essex motorists in car tax will be spent only on maintaining the county's road after calls from Essex County Council.

It follows a motion tabled for debate next week by the Conservatives at Essex County Council calling on the Government to allow local car tax money to be spent only on roads in Essex.

The motion to be moved by Cllr Mark Durham and seconded by Cllr Kevin Bentley for debate at Full Council on December 10 says: "This council notes that Essex motorists pay millions of pounds in car tax [Vehicle Excise Duty (VED)] each year.

"This council believes that all this money should be spent on maintaining Essex's roads, not topping up the Treasury's coffers.

"This council, therefore, calls on the Government to add the amount paid by Essex residents to Essex County Council budget settlement for 2025/26 onwards and for it to be ringfenced for road maintenance."

The Treasury has said vehicle excise duty revenues are paid into the consolidated fund, which funds public services. It says there are currently no plans to "hypothecate" (or pledge) VED revenues to specific local authorities.

The motion comes amid speculation over motorists facing a tax hike over their cars in 2025.

Owners of cars that are driven or kept on public roads must stump up Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) fees each year that is collected by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). The agency is soon due to update the tax for cars registered between a 27-year period that could see some people stung with new costs.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced changes to the tax bands for brand new cars from April 2025 onwards. According to the RAC the changes will only affect the cost of VED for the first year the car is registered, but there are some substantial rises.

In a move to incentivise the uptake of electric cars, all cars emitting between 1 to 50 g/km of CO2 (which includes most plug-in hybrids) will see the first year tax bill rise to £110. Currently, hybrids in this band pay zero VED in the first year, while petrol and diesel cars pay £10.

New cars emitting between 51 to 75g/km of CO2 will increase from £30 (or £20 for hybrids) to £135.

The RAC says all other rates will double next year, meaning the owner of a new VW Golf 1.5 TSI will pay an extra £220 in the first year. By contrast, a new BMW X5 M60i will have £2,745 added to the cost of the first-year rate.

It adds standard VED rates for beyond the first year will rise in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI) as is usually the case.