Air Pollution: Greater London

Norman Baker
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the Mayor of London on his decision to suspend the third phase of London's low emission zone.

Huw Irranca-Davies
Lord Hunt met with the Mayor of London on 22 January 2009 to discuss how DEFRA and the Greater London Authority could work together to ensure air quality limit values for particulate matter (PM10) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) were met in London. Following this meeting, officials in DEFRA, the Greater London Authority and Transport for London have met to discuss potential measures and these discussions are continuing.

The meeting with the Mayor was prior to his announcement on the suspension of the third phase of the London low emission zone (LEZ). While the Mayor has indicated his intentions to suspend the LEZ Phase 3 from October 2010, a final decision will be subject to consultation which will take place between now and then. Should the Mayor decide to suspend Phase 3 the Government expect him to put in place other measures that would contribute to achieving the limit values to the same, if not greater, extent.