The Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee was scheduled to discuss the updated 2026-27 revenue budget and capital programme, with a particular focus on income from tag account fees. The committee was also set to review the 2026-2027 Annual Business Plan.

Updated 2026-27 Revenue Budget and Capital Programme – Review of Income from Tag Account Fees

The committee was scheduled to consider the updated 2026-27 revenue budget and capital programme, with a specific focus on the income generated from Tamar Tag account fees. A key recommendation was that the monthly tag account fee remain unchanged at its current rate of 80p.

The report pack indicated that a previous recommendation from the December 2025 meeting had proposed an increase in the tag fee from 80p to £2.00 per month. However, due to public representations and a desire for further detailed review, the committee was to consider a revised approach. This revised approach involves undertaking a consultation and engagement exercise on increasing the monthly tag account fee. The options for this increase included retaining the 80p fee, increasing it to £2.00, or increasing it to £1.60 to restore the 2014 relationship between the fee and the discounted car toll. A budget of £10,000 was proposed to fund this consultation and engagement exercise, to be financed from existing budget allocations.

The financial implications of maintaining the current 80p fee were presented, showing a deteriorating reserve position. Forecasts indicated that reserves would be entirely depleted and a deficit would be incurred by 31 March 2030 if the fee remained unchanged. The report highlighted that this steadily worsening position moves reserves away from the £3 million level considered prudent. The report also noted that delaying decisions or adopting alternative approaches carried a significant risk of triggering protocols that would necessitate discussions with the Joint Committee to consider further action, potentially including a further toll revision. The last toll revision process in May 2025 took approximately two years from initial discussions to implementation.

The report provided background on the tag fee, noting its introduction in April 2014 at 80p per month. At that time, the fee represented just over the cost of one half-price crossing, and customers needed to make at least two crossings a month or 13 over the year to benefit financially. The number of accounts fell from 56,000 to around 50,000 after the fee's introduction. In March 2019, a proposal to increase the fee to £1.00 was postponed, and no subsequent report was provided due to the onset of the Covid pandemic.

Current operations showed that the number of accounts had risen post-Covid to over 56,000. The report detailed the closure of 8,552 dormant accounts in the year to November 2025, compared to 1,915 in 2018. The threshold for dormancy had been extended from three to six months. The report also noted that as the fee had remained unchanged while tolls increased, the frequency of use required to justify a tag account had reduced to just seven crossings a year, likely encouraging more infrequent users to join and existing users to remain. Tag settlement had increased from 61% to 62% of tolled traffic, with each 1% switch having a 0.5% negative effect on revenue.

The report also outlined efficiencies and improvements made to the tag scheme since 2013, including expanded online transaction searches, access to transaction images, online applications, remote charging, online vehicle updates, dual tag assignment, improved password reminders, and the provision of tablets for support staff.

The report included appendices detailing the revenue budget and indicative projections for 2026/27 to 2029/30, the capital programme for the same period, and a statement of estimated reserves. Appendix 5 specifically detailed the financial impact of the three fee options being considered.

2026-2027 Annual Business Plan

The committee was also scheduled to review the 2026-2027 Annual Business Plan. This plan was presented as a continuation of an interim approach, incorporating outputs from the Tamar 2050 strategy adopted in December 2023. The plan highlighted that the coming year would see a change in direction under a new Chief Officer appointed in mid-2025. Significant works were planned, including impacts on the ferry service for the rebuild of chain gantries and works on drive control systems for vessels. Major works on the bridge's main cables were set to continue, along with a significant uplift in the bridge recoating scheme and ongoing rocker replacement. Consideration of ferry decarbonisation options was also planned, pending the outcomes of externally funded research.

The plan acknowledged that the later-than-anticipated approval of new rates in 2025 had reduced expectations for longer-term financial stability, impacting the ability to plan for the future. This situation was noted as providing further impetus to work with local MPs and the government to improve the financial standing of the crossings.

Key actions for 2026-27 were outlined across several strategic goals:

• Meeting Customer Expectations: This included progressing a new communications and engagement plan, expanding proactive customer engagement through a resident/haulier focus group, and constructing a business case for open road tolling on the bridge.
• Fiscally Sustainable: Actions included implementing income optimisation measures from the Tamar 2050 programme, providing quarterly budget monitoring reports, progressing efficiency opportunities, determining and progressing the preferred route for index-linking tolls, and reviewing the impact of open road tolling on debtors.
• Transparent Governance and Clear Decision Making Processes: This involved expanding the direct publication of crossings-related information, reviewing governance arrangements and terms of reference, reviewing Tamar 2050 goals, and considering opportunities for water crossings and wider transport integration.
• A Modern, Diverse and Well Trained Workforce: Actions focused on embedding and developing apprenticeship schemes, working towards a greater gender balance, supporting flexible retirement and working, and continuing to develop staff through training opportunities.
• Quality and Appropriate Standards: This included upgrading traffic control systems, considering the output of the ferry decarbonisation research project, embedding ISO 45001 for Occupational Health and Safety, completing certification for ISO 14001 Environmental Management, and continuing technical inspection programmes for the bridge and ferries.

The Business Plan also included a budget context for 2026-2027, forecasting a deficit of £128,000, which would reduce reserves. It also outlined performance targets related to safe, reliable, and efficient services, as well as monitoring indicators for areas such as complaints, road traffic collisions, and anti-social behaviour.