§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the introduction of a green transport plan for his Department. [82836]
§ Mr. SpellarThe turbulence associated with the refurbishment of the Ministry of Defence's main building in Whitehall has made it impracticable to introduce green transport plans for MoD buildings in London. Work involved in their production would inevitably be largely nugatory.
In view of these practical difficulties and the fact that the majority of staff working London buildings use public transport to commute to work, we have decided that the Department's most immediate contribution to reducing vehicle emissions and energy consumption would be achieved by concentrating on more efficient fleet management. This particular emphasis is also more consistent with our approach to green transport plans as part of wider Environmental Management Systems. A switch to ultra-low sulphur diesel for all our wheeled vehicles is already underway and should reduce exhaust emissions in the utility fleet by up to 30 per cent.
Outside London, a draft green transport action plan has been prepared for MoD's Abbey Wood site. Work on green transport plans for other sites is due to start once analysis has been completed of pilot surveys on commuting and duty travel which were recently conducted at three representative MoD sites.
In conclusion, I must emphasis that MoD is not only a department of state but, as demonstrated by the events in Kosovo, also an operational headquarters which must be able to function around the clock and at times when public transport is not an option. Undoubtedly, this adds a further layer of difficulty to the production of green transport plans.
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