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Written question asked by Barry Sheerman (Labour) on Thursday, 3 December 2020, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 7 December 2020. It was answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative) on Thursday, 10 December 2020 on behalf of the Department for Transport.


Sainsbury's: Motor Vehicles

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Sainsbury’s on improving the sustainability of their vehicle fleet.

Answer

Ministers and officials have periodic meetings with fleet operators about a range of issues. The Government recognises the scope for fleets to be at the vanguard of the transition to zero emission driving, including the recently announced 2030 phase out of new petrol and diesel cars and vans and the phasing out of the sale of new diesel heavy goods vehicles, which we will be consulting on. We will continue to work with fleet operators towards this.

The Government’s £20m Low Emission Freight Trials funded a series of R&D projects aimed at encouraging the widespread introduction of low and zero emission vehicles to UK fleets. Retailers including Sainsbury’s, ASDA, Tesco and John Lewis were all part of this programme to cut emissions and improve air quality by focusing on emissions-busting technologies for trucks and vans.

The Government has to date already committed £1.5 billion to support the early market for greener cars and vans through various grant funding schemes which fleet operators are able to take advantage of. The Government has announced phasing out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, and, from 2035, all new cars and vans must be zero emissions at the tailpipe. To facilitate this we have pledged a further £2.8 billion package of measures to support industry and consumers to make the switch to cleaner vehicles


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
124678
Session
2019-21
Grouped for answer
Yes
Transferred
Yes
Subjects
Motor vehicles Sustainable development Sainsbury's
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk