This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Pledge to CleanUp Scotland
19/11/2002
The Executive is to spend £1 million this year and at least £5.1 million over the next three years to cut pollution from HGVs, buses, taxis, and other commercial vehicles.
Vehicle operators will be encouraged to reduce emissions through the CleanUp Scotland Programme. The new scheme, part funded from the Scottish Road Haulage Modernisation Fund, will be managed by the Energy Saving Trust and will provide grants towards the cost of fitting vehicles with emission reducing equipment.
Making the announcement, Deputy Minister for the Environment and Rural Development Allan Wilson said:
"CleanUp Scotland will help create a cleaner, healthier environment for the people of Scotland. This demonstrates the Executive's commitment to tackling the impact of vehicles on air quality by promoting the best available clean fuels and technologies that are available.
"Fitting devices such as particulate traps and oxidation catalysts to lorries and buses can dramatically reduce the amount of pollution they produce. The funds we are announcing today will help cut emissions of key pollutants such as particulates and nitrogen dioxide, improving the quality of the air we all breathe and making our towns and cities cleaner places for the people of Scotland.
"The Energy Saving Trust are ready to advise operators on which technologies are most appropriate for which vehicles and provide details of the grants available."
Lewis Macdonald, Deputy Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning also welcomed the new Programme.
He said: "Making our transport systems more sustainable and minimising their impact on our environment is a priority for the Executive. As well as bringing cleaner air to Scotland, the CleanUp Scotland programme will also reduce costs for vehicle operators, as for example, fitting cleaner technologies to vehicles can reduce running costs and bring a reduction in vehicle excise duty of up to £500
"Part of the funding for the programme is being made available from the Scottish Road Haulage Modernisation Fund and will allow us to help HGV operators of all sizes to reduce emissions from their existing vehicle fleet. Priority will be given to applications from the road haulage industry this year but we are committed to tackling pollution from all types of commercial vehicles."
Future funding for the Programme currently totals £5.1 million - £1.7 million in each of the 3 years covered by the Scottish Budget for 2003-2006. Further funding for the Programme will be made available from the Road Haulage Modernisation Fund and an announcement on the levels will be made in due course. The allocations are indicative at this stage as they are still to be formally approved by Parliament. This announcement builds on the Spending Review announcement made by Minister for Finance and Public Services Andy Kerr on September 12.
Vehicle Operators interested in benefiting from CleanUp should contact the TransportEnergy hotline on 0845 602 1425 for information and further details of the grants available.
The CleanUp Programme aims to reduce pollution from vehicles operating in Scotland by providing grants towards the cost of fitting them with emissions reduction equipment or converting them to run on alternative fuels. The Programme will also help raise awareness of and demonstrate emission reduction equipment as a means of improving local air quality.
Further details on the programme and the grants available can be found on the CleanUp Website at http://www.cleanup.org.uk or by contacting the TransportEnergy team at the Energy Savings Trust on 0131 244 1605. Priority will be given to applications from the road haulage industry during 2002/2003 but grants will also be given this financial year to convert other types of vehicles if funds are available.
The Scottish Road Haulage Modernisation Fund has been set up to offer incentives to hauliers to increase fuel efficiency, implement the latest technology and raise standards in the industry. Some of the funding is therefore being allocated to the Clean Up programme, with the remainder to be used for training. The Executive is currently in discussion with industry representatives on the most effective application of the RHMF for training.
The Energy Saving Trust also run the PowerShift and autogas+ Programmes in Scotland. Both Programmes are funded by the Scottish Executive and aim to establish a sustainable market for alternative, clean fuel vehicles. PowerShift offers a grant of up to 75% of the additional cost of converting a vehicle to run on liquid petroleum gas (LPG) for a vehicle on the PowerShift Register. autogas+, which only operates in Scotland, complements the main PowerShift Programme and provides a grant of £800 to convert petrol vehicles not on the PowerShift Register to run on LPG .
Further information on PowerShift can be obtained from the website http://www.est-powershift.org.uk/ or calling 0845 602 1425. Further information on autogas+ and details of the nearest approved installer can be obtained from 0870 240 6296.