§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to extend the arrangements for conversion of vehicles from petrol or diesel to liquified petroleum gas to older vehicles. [135739]
§ Mr. Meacher[holding answer 31 October 2000]The Powershift programme sponsored by my Department provides grants only towards the cost of converting vehicles that are under one year old to run on liquefied petroleum gas. Through Powershift we are trying to encourage vehicle manufacturers to produce production-line gas vehicles rather than the after-market conversions that currently dominate the market. Not only will production-line vehicles be much cheaper than after-market conversions, their emissions performance should also be better. Therefore, Powershift grants are targeted at new vehicles to ensure manufacturers develop the high performance systems and technologies needed to manufacture gas vehicles on the production line.
However my Department also sponsors a Cleaner Vehicles Programme that aims to reduce emissions from existing vehicles operating in urban areas. The programme includes targeted projects to fit emission reduction technologies and to convert older vehicles to run on alternative fuels, including LPG, where it proves cost effective and environmentally beneficial to do so.