§ Mr. Ian BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had on the potential impact of the proposed EU End of Life Vehicles Directive with motor industry representatives. [110352]
§ Ms Hewitt[holding answer 17 February 2000]: My officials have met regularly with the motor industry to discuss this Directive since it was first proposed by the European Commission in 1997.
§ Mr. Ian BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures are currently in place to deal with end of life vehicles. [110348]
§ Ms Hewitt[holding answer 17 February 2000]: The ACORD (Automotive Consortium on Recycling and Disposal) voluntary agreement on the treatment of end of life vehicles has been in place since 1997.
§ Mr. Ian BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if he will make a statement on the UK Government's policy on the proposed EU End of Life Vehicles Directive; [110346]
(2) what information and advice his Department has given to UK MEPs on the likely economic and environmental impact of the proposed EU End of Life Vehicles Directive; [110350]
(3) what the Government's policy is in respect of EU legislation that imposes a retrospective financial liability on UK industry. [110351]
§ Ms Hewitt[holding answers 17 February 2000]: The Government wishes to secure the important environmental benefits that will be delivered by this Directive at the lowest costs. We have agreed to the Common Position text which states that vehicle producers must meet "all or a significant part" of the costs of treatment for new vehicles from 2001 onwards and for existing vehicles from 2006 onwards. As with all proposals for European Legislation, the Government maintains regular contact with MEP's and provides information and advice in line with the Government's position.
§ Mr. Ian BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the cost to the UK motor industry of implementing the proposed EU End of Life Vehicles Directive. [110347]
§ Ms Hewitt[holding answer 17 February 2000]: My Department's Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) in September 1999 estimated the costs of the Common Position text of the proposed Directive at £312 million per annum in 2005. The Common Position text gives each member state an important degree of flexibility in deciding how best to recover the costs of treating scrapped vehicles, including the size of the vehicle producer's contribution.
Copies of above RIA and earlier RIAs are available in the Library of the House.