§ Sir Philip GoodhartTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what instructions he has given for the modification of cars used by his Department so that they can use unleaded petrol.
§ Mr. AtkinsNone. The Department's policy is that where practicable new vehicles should either be diesel-powered or run on lead-free petrol. Existing petrol engined vehicles should be converted to lead-free petrol at a convenient major service where that can be done at no significant cost.
§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps he is taking to encourage British car makers to provide vehicles designed to run on unleaded petrol.
§ Mr. AtkinsIt is Government policy to establish the use of unleaded petrol as the dominant fuel in the United408W Kingdom as quickly as possible. From October 1989 all new models of cars, and from October 1990 all new cars, must be able to run on unleaded petrol. The duty differential introduced in the last Budget gives the fuel a retail price advantage of some 6p compared with four-star petrol. In addition, the Government support the activities of the Campaign for Lead Free Air (CLEAR), which runs campaigns to encourage the use of the fuel. As a result, demand for cars which can run on unleaded petrol is growing, and this means that it is in the commercial interests of car manufacturers to provide them as quickly as they can.