| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
2.52 pm
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment (Mr. James Clappison): I welcome the opportunity to respond to a debate on the important subject of air quality, on which much progress has recently been made. Standards are rising, and that is right. Air quality is an important issue, in Nottingham as elsewhere in the country. I am happy to accept the invitation of the hon. Member for Nottingham, North (Mr. Allen) to visit Nottingham to see what is happening there.
Nottingham is part of the United Kingdom's smoke and sulphur dioxide monitoring network, and also takes part in the national nitrogen dioxide tube survey. That monitoring indicates that Nottingham experiences air quality that is, on the whole, pretty typical for urban areas in the United Kingdom, and levels of smoke and sulphur dioxide are well below the EC limit values.
We are currently improving our national monitoring networks further, to improve our assessment of the extent to which air quality standards and targets are being achieved; to provide better information to the public and other interested bodies; and to improve our understanding of air quality problems. To that end, this year we are expanding our automatic monitoring network to around 100 sites, including seven new automatic monitoring stations, one of which--the hon. Member will be pleased to hear--will be in Nottingham.
That site will provide continuous and accurate monitoring of ozone, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and particulate matter, to which the hon. Member drew attention. We are discussing an appropriate site for the station with the city council.
We need to do more than just monitor air quality. The air quality in the United Kingdom is generally pretty good, and has improved considerably over the past 30 to
40 years, but the Government recognise that many people are concerned about the smell, nuisance and potential health effects of some pollutants, We want to improve living conditions, especially in our cities and for the sake of future generations. We are determined to manage and improve air quality, both across the nation and wherever there are particular problems.
We are now preparing our first national air quality strategy, which will set air quality standards and targets and outline the measures that will be taken at international, national and local level to meet them. That will build on the controls that are already in place.
The United Kingdom already has in place one of the most sophisticated industrial air pollution control systems in Europe, consisting of integrated pollution control and local authority air pollution control. Authorisations are based upon what is described as the best available techniques not entailing excessive cost, which are reviewed every four years.
The first large review of integrated pollution control authorisations, dealing with electricity generators, has recently been completed. That will result in very substantial reductions in emissions of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulates. Emissions of sulphur dioxide and smoke from domestic households are controlled through the smoke control area system, which was introduced in 1956. Nottingham has five integrated pollution control processes in operation and 65 local authority air pollution controls. It completed its smoke control programme in 1991, so all households in the city fall within smoke control areas.
The hon. Gentleman mentioned vehicle emission, which is another important source of pollution, besides industrial pollution. It concerns many people. Traffic is a major pollutant, and in many of our towns and cities today it is the main source of air pollution.
Emissions from the transport sector are mainly controlled through European Community legislation, in particular through emission standards for new vehicles and standards on the quality of automotive fuels. European standards for new vehicles were agreed in the early 1990s, which made the fitting of catalytic convertors to petrol cars compulsory from 1993. Even more stringent standards for vehicles have been agreed for 1996-97.
These measures will provide the backbone to our policies for reducing emissions from road transport. As the proportion of vehicles conforming to the tougher standards grows, emissions of air pollutants should fall dramatically over the next 10 years--despite a likely steady rise in the size of the vehicle fleet and the number of kilometres driven. However, an increase in the volume of traffic will affect that picture over the longer term. Therefore, we need further progress to reduce average emissions per vehicle.
The European Commission is expected to bring forward new proposals for vehicle emission and fuel quality standards for the year 2000 and beyond. We shall be looking to agree a positive, cost-effective package of measures that will bring down vehicle emissions substantially and bring us closer to meeting our air quality objectives. As the cleaner vehicles come to predominate in the fleet, we will also tighten the enforcement standards for them, as the hon. Gentleman mentioned.
However, technological fixes are not enough; patterns of behaviour must change as well. We are therefore encouraging public and private fleet operators to act in an environmentally responsible way, and we are providing the public with information about greener motoring habits. We need a framework for that action to ensure that everyone understands what the important air quality priorities really are; we need to bring that home to people.
Mr. Allen:
I thank the Minister for his courtesy in giving way. What is the current state of the debate on the diesel versus petrol problem? Many of us bought diesel cars thinking we were doing the right and the green thing. Now we are told to have second thoughts.
Mr. Clappison:
We keep the question of emissions from diesel under close review. The hon. Gentleman referred to particulates. He will know that there is an issue about emissions from diesels. He will also know the measures to deal with that taken by my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor in the last Budget, which perhaps reflect the changed thinking to which the hon. Gentleman referred. It is fair to say that diesels also cause pollution, and we will be examining that point as we seek higher standards in the European Community.
Our approach has been based on expert scientific evidence. We are working on the best available scientific advice and on the best advice on the best outcome for health.
We have recently received reports and recommendations from the independent expert panel on air quality standards, as well as the committee on the medical effects of particulates. We also take into account information from other sources such as the World Health Organisation.
On the basis of this technical and scientific advice, we are looking to set down clear national standards and objectives for air quality, to be achieved by a given timetable. We seek a national strategy backed up by flexible and cost-effective action at a local level, through the system of local air quality management areas, to which the hon. Member adverted. In the time that is left, I emphasise that they have an important role to play, particularly in the local management areas to which the hon. Gentleman adverted.
We are also committed to keeping our policies under review to ensure that progress is maintained. As the hon. Gentleman implied a moment ago, scientific views and knowledge change and we have to keep abreast of those changes. We also have to make the best possible information available to the general public.
Our air quality strategy is under consideration. We have been putting in place the elements for it. It will shortly be available. We look forward to building on the considerable achievements that we have already had in improving air quality. We want to see improved air quality for future generations. We are taking the action to achieve this. I am sure that will be welcome to everyone, including to the three young ladies in the hon. Gentleman's constituency to whom he referred.
Question put and agreed to.
Adjourned accordingly at Three o'clock.
| Index | Home Page |