asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will consider measures to accelerate the rate of decrease in all nitrous oxide emissions from urban traffic to increase the protection of urban ozone levels. [HL3613]

The Department for Transport (DfT) is working closely with Defra on the review of the UK air quality strategy, aimed at delivering the shared public service agreement (PSA) targets on air quality. It considers several new measures to reduce emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) from urban traffic. These include tighter Euro-standards for cleaner vehicles, a package of incentives for early uptake of Euro-standards and low-emission vehicles, low-emission zones (LEZs) in London and elsewhere, and support for “soft measures” such as walking and cycling schemes.

The DfT engages regularly with local authorities via the Low Emissions Strategies Forum, which discusses air quality (including NOx) in urban areas. Seven UK cities are currently planning low-emission zones, with the input and support of the DfT. The DfT and its agencies are also working very closely with TfL on the London low-emission zone. This has included discussing stakeholder issues, running an alternative certification process and annual testing for HGVs, informing individuals and businesses that are likely to be affected, and negotiations on the inclusion of parts of the trunk road network.