§ Mr. Rookerasked the Secretary of State for Transport what is the current estimated additional cost of a gallon of petrol at the pump if the lead additives were removed.
§ Mr. FowlerThe cost of moving to completely lead-free petrol has been estimated at around £200 million per annum at 1978 prices, with an annual cost to the motorist at that time of around £18 a year. These costs are not reflected in any increase in the actual cost of petrol at the pump—apart from a very small amount needed to cover the extra costs of distribution for a short period—because they are made up of the extra petrol motorists would need to buy to cover the same mileage with lead-free fuel and the costs of redesigning engines to run on such fuel.