Liquid Petroleum Gas

HC Deb 07 July 2000 vol 353 c309W

Ms Atherton

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to promote the use of liquid petroleum gas in cars. [128276]

Mr. Hill

The Government have introduced a number of measures to promote the wider use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in recognition of the fuel's environmental benefits. The Energy Saving Trust's Powershift programme, which is funded by my Department, provides grants towards the additional cost of vehicles fuelled by LPG. Funding for this programme was increased to £10 million following the last Budget. LPG and other road gas fuels also benefit from a relatively low rate of fuel duty compared to petrol and diesel. From 1 March 2001, Vehicle Excise Duty for new cars will be graduated on the basis of CO₂ emissions. Under the new scheme, LPG cars will benefit both from a modest discount and from generally having lower CO₂ emissions than equivalent petrol cars. The Government are currently consulting on further tax discounts under the new company car tax regime, which comes into effect from 6 April 2002, for gas and electric cars.