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Road Traffic Reduction Bill

Order for Second Reading read.

12.30 pm

Mr. Don Foster (Bath): I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time.

I congratulate the hon. Member for Castle Point (Dr. Spink) on the success of the Confiscation of Alcohol (Young Persons) Bill. It is an important measure and it has my party's support.

I also thank the hon. Gentleman for his courtesy in ensuring that there is an opportunity today to have an important discussion on the Road Traffic Reduction Bill. Having thanked one hon. Member, I also thank the many hon. Members on both sides of the House who have announced their support for the Bill. I thank in particular the hon. Members who have agreed to act as sponsors of the Bill--again, they are from both sides of the House. They support the Bill because, like me, they are concerned about the significant problems created by the excessive amount of traffic on our roads. Like me, they believe that something needs to be done urgently; this is therefore a Bill whose time has come.

That view is widely shared outside the Chamber, and I pay tribute to the many organisations, especially Friends of the Earth, that have played such a key part in preparing the Bill. I also pay tribute to earlier attempts to deal with the problem, not least those led by the hon. Member for Ceredigion and Pembroke, North (Mr. Dafis), which have helped in the preparation of the Bill. I pay tribute to many other organisations including, for example, the townswomen's guilds. Many councils, which will have additional duties placed on them if the Bill is enacted, have nevertheless recognised its importance and have shown their support for it.

Hundreds and thousands of individual members of the public have become involved. I have had more than 1,000 letters in support of the Bill and a petition in support of it now has more than 350,000 signatures from every part of the country. I thank all those people for their support and encouragement.

I single out one other person--the Minister. As soon as I had the opportunity to introduce a Bill and selected the Road Traffic Reduction Bill, the Minister was courteous enough to afford me the opportunity to meet him and then to have discussions with his officials. Those discussions have been extremely helpful and constructive, and I pay tribute to the Minister and his colleagues for their support and assistance. I shall refer to one or two of the Minister's further suggestions later in my speech.

Hundreds of thousands of people recognise that Britain is facing significant problems as a result of excessive traffic.

Mr. John Marshall (Hendon, South): It is a pleasure to be one of the sponsors of the Bill. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the choice facing the British people is simple: increased gridlock or very much better public transport?

Mr. Foster: I entirely agree with the hon. Gentleman and I thank him for his support in sponsoring the Bill. It is critical that we find ways of improving public transport

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so that it is sufficiently attractive to convince people to leave their cars and use it. However, the Bill goes further and proposes important measures to tackle the problem.

We are all well aware of the problems, and I shall not read out a comprehensive list. However, it is worth reflecting that figures supported by the Confederation of British Industry show that road congestion costs British businesses a staggering £19 billion a year. In addition, the problems created by lost days at work because of traffic accidents cost industry another £6.5 billion a year.

Excess traffic also creates problems for the health of the nation. One in seven young people already suffer from asthma, which is exacerbated by air pollution caused by traffic fumes. A study by Lancaster university shows that some 15 million people--a staggering number--suffer ill health as a result of traffic fumes. Sadly, the research shows that there are some 10,000 premature deaths each year because of traffic pollution.

There are wider environmental problems. There is evidence that, each night, 63 per cent. of the British population live with noise levels above the upper limit set by the World Health Organisation. It is difficult to calculate the cost to the nation of health problems caused by road traffic, but independent estimates vary widely between £4.5 billion a year and £12.5 billion a year.

We are all aware of the other environmental problems. We are all concerned about global warming, and the Government have taken action to tackle the problem. The causes of global warming include carbon dioxide emissions; vehicles account for 22 per cent. of those emissions.

Traffic problems represent a major contribution to acid rain--a major environmental problem. It is estimated that some 700 sites of special scientific interest are likely to be seriously damaged by acid rain, to which air pollution from car fumes is a major contributory factor.

We should also be concerned about energy consumption. In Britain, transport accounts for 33 per cent. of energy consumption and 80 per cent. of that is used by road transport. If we could address those problems, we could save lives, improve the environment and save the nation billions of pounds.

The problems are already bad; the real concern for the House and the nation is that there are currently 25 million vehicles on our roads. All reasonable estimates suggest that the number will double in 25 to 30 years. Given that the problems are bad now, we should think how serious they will be in 25 years' time if we do not take action to tackle them.

The Bill's measures do not pretend to provide all the solutions to the problems. As the hon. Member for Castle Point pointed out in the previous debate, his Confiscation of Alcohol (Young Persons) Bill is part of the solution to a very serious problem. If it becomes law, my Bill will be part of the solution. It provides the mechanisms by which many of the sensible suggestions and solutions that have already been identified may more easily be put into practice. It also identifies how new solutions may undergo trials and, if successful, be put into practice.

Many councils have already worked hard to identify ways in which they can begin to tackle the excess traffic in their areas. I hope that the Bill will ensure that all councils have to consider such measures, share examples of good practice and develop new, imaginative solutions.

Dr. Norman A. Godman (Greenock and Port Glasgow): Am I right in assuming that clause 4 would allow the

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Secretary of State for Scotland to draw up guidelines for councils in advance of the drawing up of local plans so that, among other things, any incompatibility between neighbouring councils may be avoided?

Mr. Foster: The hon. Gentleman raises a very important point. If appropriate measures were not included in the Bill, it would be possible for councils to develop plans that might cause problems for neighbouring councils. A good example of that concerns crime watch provisions. We are all in favour of crime watch schemes, but if all they do is divert criminal activity to a neighbouring area, problems arise. Provision for the Minister to ensure, for example, development at a regional level, the creation of opportunities to co-ordinate different proposals and the giving of guidance in advance to councils on the sort of action that he would like taken is a vital part of the Bill.

One statistic always worth reflection by those who say that nothing can be done--it is one of many that I could cite and a staggering thought--is that, in London, one in eight car journeys are under 1,000 m. If we cannot do something about such short car journeys, we shall have a real problem in future.

Clause 2 places a duty on councils to draw up local traffic reduction plans, set targets for reducing or curtailing the growth of different types of traffic in their area by 2005 and 2010 and set out measures that, in their opinion, are necessary to achieve those targets. The Bill would also expect them to provide an estimate of the cost of the measures, an assessment of the effect of each of them on the reduction in road traffic and an assessment of the likely reduction in carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, volatile organic compounds and PM10 emissions--particles of less than 10 microns--in the atmosphere.

The Bill does not, of course, limit what might appear in such plans. It contains a number of measures that might be included in them. Examples are given that will, I hope, be the basis for the sharing of good practice. They could include encouragement of cycling or walking, alteration of planning policy to reduce the need for travel, provision of more and better public transport--as the hon. Member for Hendon, South (Mr. Marshall) said--reductions in the speed of road traffic by traffic-calming measures and the creation of pedestrian-only or restricted traffic zones, backed by effective park-and-ride schemes such as those in my constituency. They could also include provision of more information to people about the alternatives available and work with businesses in the locality to promote, for example, car-sharing schemes.

I pay tribute to BAA, which has organised a computerised system at Heathrow so that all its employees can have an access to an effective database to see if anybody is travelling to work from their area with whom they can link up. I also congratulate Nottingham council which has worked with local businesses, especially Boots the Chemist, to develop schemes that will reduce road traffic use by their employees.

I pay tribute also to the Confederation of British Industry. The Minister, I know, has some reservations about targets that might be set by the Government or anybody else. Interestingly, the CBI, which some might suggest is not the most radical of organisations on environmental issues, suggests in its latest publication "All Aboard" that individual companies should set targets

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for the reduction of mileage travelled by employees. The CBI's target is much tougher than any that have been suggested for the Bill. The CBI suggests a

"10 per cent. reduction in mileage travelled by employees using a car in the course of work over the next twelve months."

I hope that local councils, when developing their plans, will consult businesses and many other organisations.

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