§ Mr. FearnTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action he is taking to encourage the manufacture of cars which may run on lead-free petrol.
§ Mr. Peter Bottomley[holding answer 20 December 1988]: Regulations made in September mean that from 1 October 1990 virtually all new cars will have to be capable of running on unleaded petrol. Manufacturers have already made considerable progress towards meeting this binding requirement. In the first nine months of 1988, only 18 per cent. of the new petrol-engined vehicles sold were in the leaded only category.