Classic and Historic Vehicles: Fuel (Hansard, 4 February 1998)

§ Baroness Hayman

Despite the concerns raised by owners of classic, veteran and vintage vehicles, in practice there are very few that are unable to operate on unleaded petrol. Leaded petrol only became widely available after the second world war and is not, therefore, a prerequisite for earlier vehicles. But, for these and later vehicles, the British Standards Institution is developing a specification for a special grade of petrol which does not have the disadvantages to health that are attributable to lead. This is expected to be widely available after 1 January 2000, when the proposed EU ban comes into effect. To supplement this, the Government have negotiated a derogation, subject to ratification by the European Parliament, for an ongoing supply of leaded petrol, to a limit of 0.5 per cent. of total petrol sales, to be distributed through specialist interest groups. In due course the Government will be liaising with organisations representing the interests of classic/historic vehicle owners to ensure a smooth implementation.