§ Mr. GreenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what resources he has made available to local authorities to enable them to meet the targets set out in the Air Quality Strategy. [108335]
§ Mr. Meacher[holding answer 3 February 2000]: Since 1997, the Government have provided additional resources each year via the local government finance settlement to enable authorities to carry out their air quality management duties. We have also provided supplementary credit approvals to the value of £12 million over the same period to allow for capital expenditure on air quality monitoring equipment. We have issued guidance and established helpdesks to help with any technical difficulties. Where road transport is the major source of local air pollution, we have encouraged authorities to use their local transport plans where appropriate to bid for additional resources to tackle the problem.