Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing fines for car idling.

The Department does not consider that increasing fine levels would be a suitable way to reduce the numbers to drivers idling unnecessarily. We believe there are other effective ways of influencing driver behaviour and increasing public awareness of the damaging air quality impact of unnecessary idling. Local Authorities should utilise a range of methods to encourage motorists to change their behaviour, including public information campaigns.