Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate

Graham Leadbitter Excerpts

Monday 7th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Heidi Alexander]

We issued guidance to local authorities before Christmas on cross-pavement solutions, and we are offering a grant of up to £350 for households with on-street parking. I hope those two things together will offer some comfort to my hon. Friend’s constituents who are in the situations he describes.

[Graham Leadbitter (Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey) (SNP)]

I thank the Secretary of State for her statement. Pace is needed, understandably, but I do have some concerns in that due process needs to be followed with the devolved Administrations. Can she assure the House that sufficient time is being allowed for the devolved Administrations, including the Scottish Government, to be fully involved and engaged in a consultation on policy development, and the Scottish Parliament for any legislative changes that may be required? Secondly, what assessment has been made of the potential for those changes to impact negatively on carbon emissions in the UK and Scotland, and our respective Governments’ ability to meet statutory climate change targets? Will she publish any such assessments?

[Heidi Alexander]

I would like to put on record my thanks to the Scottish Government for their assistance in working at pace over the past couple of days. I committed to the hon. Gentleman’s colleagues in the Scottish Government to work closely with them and that is exactly what I have done. With regard to carbon assessments, we have conducted a carbon assessment. I can assure him that today’s proposed changes make a negligible change to the carbon emissions that were predicted to be saved as a result of the ZEV mandate.