HC Deb 18 January 1999 vol 323 cc307-8W
Mr. Hoyle

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what trials his Department has commissioned into the conversion of heavy goods vehicles and passenger service vehicles to liquid petroleum gas and naturally compressed gas. [66074]

Ms Glenda Jackson

My Department has kept closely in touch with the work that some operators have done on the advantages and disadvantages of converting heavy goods vehicles and passenger service vehicles to use road fuel gases, including a number of tests carried out by London Transport Buses. The Cleaner Vehicles Task Force has also set up a sub-group to consider the merits and longer term potential of alternative fuels. The Energy Saving Trust's Powershift programme, funded by the Government, provides grants towards alternatively fuelled vehicles, and the costs and performance of vehicles purchased under the scheme are monitored and evaluated.

Mr. Hoyle

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what initiatives the Government have taken for the conversion of local government vehicles to naturally compressed gas and liquid petroleum gas; and how many local authorities have taken advantage of this. [66075]

Ms Glenda Jackson

The Energy Saving Trust's Powershift programme, funded by the Government, provides grants towards alternatively fuelled vehicles including those running on road fuel gases. 73 local authorities have so far benefited from Powershift grants for gas vehicles. My Department has also funded the first stage of the ALTER (Alternative Traffic in Towns) project which is a Europe-wide initiative that encourages local administrations to purchase clean vehicles and to convert existing vehicles to cleaner fuels. To date 32 cities, towns and counties in the UK have signed up to this initiative.