Question to the Department for Transport:

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.

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.