Mawhinney to reveal new curbs on car pollution new pollution curbs

BY CHRISTIAN WOLMAR

Transport Correspondent

More curbs on heavily-polluting cars are expected to be announced today by Brian Mawhinney, the Secretary of State for Transport, in a speech to environmental transport organisations.

In an effort to show the Government's green credentials, Dr Mawhinney will reveal the results of a series of blitzes on polluting cars which began last December. The results have apparently alarmed ministers by recording very high levels of emissions from poorly-tuned cars and lorries.

Dr Mawhinney is expected to say that the Government is to consider establishing pollution targets, particularly for nitrogen oxides, in major cities. Previously, targets had been ruled out by ministers but now they will be on the agenda, though no decision has yet been taken.

The roadside checks on cars are carried out by a joint team from the police, the Vehicles Inspectorate and local authorities, and Dr Mawhinney is expected to announce that the checks are to be stepped up.

Today's address is the second in a series of key speeches that Dr Mawhinney is using to show that he is shifting away from the emphasis on road transport that was the hallmark of the Thatcher era.

So far, however, apart from cutting back on spending on roads, at the instigation of the Treasury, and encouraging local authorities to spend money on a package approach to transport - including measures such as public transport, traffic calming, cycle and bus lanes rather than just on roads - there has been little overall change in policy. Behind the scenes, though, a fierce battle is taking place within the Department of Transport as anti-roads policy makers see the first signs of a change in emphasis for over a decade.

To push along the debate, Dr Mawhinney has been considering publishing his ideas in a Green Paper in the spring.

but a final decision on whether to do that has not been made.ENDIT