(1 month, 1 week ago)
Commons ChamberI am grateful to the right hon. Member for that question. The policy to which he refers—the zero emission vehicle mandate—and its penalties as we ramp up to the phasing out of petrol and diesel vehicles is actually a Department for Transport policy of the previous Government. We supported it, because there is no point in having an objective to phase out petrol and diesel vehicles without a corresponding ramping up of regulation to do that.
There is an issue with consumer demand, which affects all of Europe. We are working closely on that. Under the policies of the last Government, there are flexibilities—things that can be transferred from one financial year to the next. We keep everything under close review, but we are committed to the transition. That is essential to industry and consumer confidence and making sure that that happens. Every country in the world has similar policies. This is an ongoing transition, and we are absolutely going to make it work for British industry.
I thank my hon. Friend for his question and for hosting me when I visited after the riots. I extend all my sympathies to the businesses affected. There is no excuse under any circumstances for looting shops, or in this case burning down a library. I was very much affected by my visit. He knows that we work very much in collaboration with the Association of British Insurers to ensure that claims are processed quickly. By now, I hope that businesses are aware that if they are underinsured or uninsured, help is still available to them under the Riot Compensation Act 2016, the details of which are on the gov.uk website.