§ Lord Berkeleyasked the Chairman of Committees:
Whether he will make arrangements for instructions to be given to all car drivers to switch off their engines when stopped in the parking areas allocated to the House of Lords in the Palace of Westminster. [HL1966]
§ The Chairman of Committees (Lord Boston of Faversham)I understand from the Government Car and Despatch Agency that their drivers are under clear instructions to keep their engines running whenever possible. This is because all their cars are fitted with catalytic converters which only operate properly when hot and because their security vehicles are fitted with a number of electrically powered security devices which could not be powered from the car battery alone for extensive lengths of time.