§ 25. Mr. Meadowcroftasked the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received about the timetable for equipping new cars with the capacity to run on lead-free petrol.
§ Mrs. ChalkerOver the last nine months my department has participated in many discussions with interested organisations. The line we should take on the relevant EC directives on lead in petrol and vehicle emissions is under consideration in the Council of Ministers. The Lead in Petrol Directive, which has now been agreed, provides for 95 octane unleaded petrol to he generally available from October 1989.
The general view amongst those we have consulted is that the Vehicle Emissions Directive — on which agreement is expected this Summer — should enable member states to require all new cars with petrol engines registered from that date to be capable of running on unleaded petrol. That will put us in a position to settle arrangements with the vehicle manufacturers to phase out old models and bring in new ones — designed for the new petrol—over as short a period as is practicable around the second half of 1989.