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Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Asked by James NaishLabourDepartment for TransportTabled Answered 24 April 2026UIN 127556

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to encourage local authorities to take action against engine idling, particularly outside of schools.

Answered by Simon Lightwood

All Local Authorities already have powers available to them to issue Fixed Penalty Notices to drivers who are idling unnecessarily. Local Authorities are best placed to determine where to carry out enforcement against idling. Guidance on enforcement issued by the Department for Transport encourages Local Authorities to consider enforcement at sensitive sites, which could include outside schools, hospitals or other sites where unnecessary idling is a persistent issue.

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