David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-07-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans the Government has to implement a diesel scrappage scheme to tackle air pollution.

Dr Thérèse Coffey

Current plans for improving air quality are set out in our national plan for nitrogen dioxide, published on 17 December last year. The plan sets out a comprehensive approach to improving UK air quality. The priority measure in the plan is the introduction of new Clean Air Zones to tackle the most polluting vehicles in air pollution hotspots. Clean Air Zones will be introduced in five cities in England (Birmingham, Leeds, Southampton, Nottingham and Derby), along with the Ultra Low Emission Zone in London.

The plan sets out a range of other measures. For example, we are also planning to consult in the Autumn on proposals to control emissions from generators, which have the potential to cause breaches in air quality limits for nitrogen dioxide. The proposed controls will apply from 2019.