Letter from John Bowis, OBE, MP, Minister for Transport
in London and Road Safety, to Lord Tordoff, Chairman of the Committee
Thank you for your letter of 17 December[5] about the Commission's Communication 9856/96 on the Auto-Oil Programme
and draft Directives on fuel quality and motor vehicle emissions.
I fully share the Committee's concern to ensure that no
decision is taken now on the 2005 limits which would prejudice
their revision at a later date. That is why the Government supports
a Commission review by the end of 1998, of further measures necessary
for 2005; and for this review to be carried out on the same basis
as the initial Auto-Oil study. As indicated in the Explanatory
Memorandum, the Commission need to demonstrate that a further
improvement in emission limits and fuel quality is necessary in
air quality terms, that any proposals to deliver such improvements
take full account of the availability of the necessary cost effective
technology and that fuel of the necessary quality to enable this
technology to operate effectively was available.
With regard to the use of Article 100a, I consider this to
be the right Treaty base for the proposals for harmonisation
of vehicle construction and fuel standards, but consider that
fiscal provisions, if considered necessary, should be separately
considered under an appropriate Treaty base requiring unanimity,
such as Article 99.
Finally, the Commission has not as yet responded to the views
which we have presented on the inclusion of diesel fuel for off
road vehicles in the proposal. I shall inform you of their response
in due course.
8 January 1997
Letter from Lord Tordoff, Chairman of the Committee,
to John Bowis, OBE, MP, Minister for Transport in London and
for Road Safety
Thank you for your letter of 8 January which was considered
by the Select Committee at its meeting on Thursday 30 January.
The Committee was grateful for the clarification you were
able to provide on the Governments' attitude to the 2005 emission
limits and on the question of the legal base. It was, however,
disappointed that you did not comment on the strong expression
of concern in my letter about the proposal to ban leaded petrol
from 2000. The Committee would welcome an indication of how the
Government intends to pursue their stated opposition to this
part of the Commission proposal and what success they are having
in promoting the merits of fiscal incentives as an alternative
to regulation.
We are maintaining the document under scrutiny pending your
reply.
4 February 1997
Letter from John Bowis, OBE, MP, Minister for Transport
in London and for Road Safety, to Lord Tordoff, Chairman of the
Committee
Thank you for your letter of 4 February about the Commission's
Communication 9856/96 and draft Directives on fuel quality and
motor vehicle emissions; and in particular the proposed ban on
leaded petrol from 2000.
I am sorry that you were disappointed that we did not comment
on the strong expression of concern in your letter about the
proposal to ban leaded petrol from 2000. We had taken your indication
of concern as an endorsement of the Government's own position,
but I agree that the strength of these concerns should have been
acknowledged.
We intend to pursue our opposition to the ban. Progress is
usually possible once discussions get under way in Council Working
Groups. In the early discussions which have already taken place,
we have left Member States and the Commission in no doubt as
to our position. It is already clear that a number of States share
our view on the lack of necessity for a complete ban. We are
therefore actively considering the feasibility of some of the
other Member States' ideas, which include a delay in the application
date (which may help, but is not an ideal solution), an exemption
for certain vehicles, including classic cars (which would meet
our objective but which might be difficult to define) or a limit
on the amount of leaded petrol used. This last solution could
fit in well with our own proposal for using economic incentives.
Overall I am encouraged that not only do a number of Member
States share our concerns, but that there also appears to be
some recognition that a more acceptable solution is needed. It
is still too early to give you a clear indication of what the
final outcome might be but I am cautiously optimistic that a solution
acceptable to the UK will be reached.
13 February 1997
Letter from Lord Tordoff, Chairman of the Committee,
to John Bowis, OBE, MP, Minister for Transport in London and
for Road Safety
Thank you for your letter of 13 February in reply to mine
of 4 February. Your letter has now been considered by Sub-Committee
B, to whom the original proposal was sifted for scrutiny.
The Sub-Committee was pleased to note your reiteration of
the Government's opposition to the proposed ban on leaded petrol
by 2000. On the grounds that the Government's negotiating position,
as outlined in your letter, matches its own concerns on this
point, the Sub-Committee agreed to lift the scrutiny reserve.
I would be grateful if you could let me know in due course whether
you are successful in securing a satisfactory final outcome.
4 March 1997
Letter from Lord Geddes, Chairman of Sub-Committee
B, to John Bowis, OBE, MP, Minister for Transport in London and
for Road Safety
As you know, the above proposal was cleared by means of
a letter from Lord Tordoff on 4 March, following correspondence
based on scrutiny by Sub-Committee B.
It has now come to the Sub-Committee's attention that a further
implication of the draft Directive on vehicle emissions would
be to give car manufacturers exclusive control over the access
codes to on-board diagnostic systems which are to become mandatory
for new cars by the year 2000. This aspect of the draft Directive,
which was not discussed in the Government's EM nor considered
by the Sub-Committee during its earlier scrutiny of the proposal,
has given rise to concerns among motoring organisations such as
the RAC that their ability to provide a roadside repair service
to motorists would be significantly restricted.
The Sub-Committee has seen a note prepared by your Department
in response to these concerns which says that the Government
will "aim to ensure that all diagnostic fault codes, electronic
communication protocols and connector sockets are standardised
to enable interrogation by standard off-board instruments used
by the repair industry". We strongly support this approach,
and I would be grateful if you were able to let me know in due
course what success you have in ensuring that appropriate changes
to the draft Directive are made.
20 March 1997
5 Printed in Correspondence with Ministers, 5th Report, Session 1996-97, p. 24. Back
