Transport Emissions in Urban Areas

Lord King of Bridgwater Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd May 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, I dispute what the noble Baroness has said. I have figures here from when my party and hers were in government, which include considerable reductions in air pollution since 2010. I wonder whether the noble Baroness wishes not to acknowledge the reduction of, for instance, 27% in nitrogen oxide from 2010 to 2016. So progress is being made, but we want to make more. The noble Baroness shakes her head, but I would have thought she would have been pleased about the investment of £1.5 billion to position the UK at the global forefront of all ultra-low emission vehicle development, manufacture and use. We are doing all these things and we are world leaders in this. Our investment in ultra-low emission vehicles may not be recognised by some in your Lordships’ House but it is recognised by other countries. We are going to ensure that, with increased electric charging, these vehicles will replace conventional combustion engine ones.

[Lord King of Bridgwater (Con)]

Does my noble friend agree that one of the causes of extra emissions is traffic congestion? Am I the only Member of your Lordships’ House who feels that there are an increasing number of occasions when local authorities and others close roads and are extremely slow to reopen them after the work has been done? Can I direct him to come with me to Parliament Street and Whitehall, where there is an absolutely classic illustration of that problem? One drain has been repaired, the south side of the carriageway is completely closed and there is serious congestion in Horse Guards Avenue. I talked to the people who were removing the barriers, in a rather leisurely way, work having finished some time this morning, and said: “When is this going to reopen?” They said, “Midnight tonight”. There ought to be an arrangement when, if the work finishes early, there is a messaging system and roads can be reopened swiftly, so that the traffic can flow and we can then end the congestion that otherwise occurs when there are these blockages.

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

I entirely agree with my noble friend and will pick that up with TfL and the Department for Transport. As my noble friend rightly identified, congestion is a cause of pollution, as is the idling of vehicles. I am pleased that the City of Westminster has issued an edict about idling and turning engines off. This is very helpful.