Heavy Lorries (Hansard, 14 January 1985)

§ 2. Mr. Dykes
asked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the progress of the development of the quieter heavy lorry.

§ The Minister of State, Department of Transport (Mrs. Lynda Chalker)
The quiet heavy vehicle project— QHV90— is making good progress. Most of the contracts have been placed with the industrial partners and I expect the programme to be substantially completed within the next four years.

§ Mr. Dykes
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that reply. Will she assure the House that the industry is not going slower than necessary on the development of the quieter heavy lorry, because that development was the essential quid pro quo for the approved increase in lorry weights? The development of the quieter heavy lorry is a better way forward than daft administrative bans in some areas, as currently proposed by the Greater London council.

§ Mrs. Chalker
My hon. Friend is absolutely right; and I can give him the assurance that the project, costing about £10 million in total, is on target and proceeding well.

§ Mr. Spearing
Does the Minister agree that the possible ban to which the hon. Member for Harrow, East (Mr. Dykes) referred would not apply to completely quiet lorries? Will she look into the figures quoted by the GLC? Is it not probable that such quietness could be achieved at even lower costs than have been considered so far? Will the Minister look into the matter immediately, notwithstanding the four-year programme that she has mentioned?

§ Mrs. Chalker
The hon. Gentleman should not take comfort from the discussion that has gone on about hush kits, to which I think he is referring. Although I regret it, there is no range of hush kits ready and waiting to be fitted to the many different types of lorry in use today. The way to achieve the realistic and lasting reductions in lorry noise mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow, East (Mr. Dykes) is by design, as is being done in the QHV90 project. We shall ensure that when the first prototype comes along, in good time, it is followed by others; and we shall start manufacturing at the earliest possible date to the QHV90 specification.