To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Written Statement of 12 December 2016, EU Transport Council, HCWS340, what recent progress his Department has made with his counterparts in other EU countries on reaching an agreement on (a) proposals for creating a regime for EU whole vehicle type approval and (b) further steps to ensure car manufacturers tackle emissions irregularities.

The UK is actively involved in negotiations to strengthen the EU type approval regime within the Council. We share the proposal’s overall objectives of raising the standards of all EU type approval authorities and ensuring that manufacturers face a level playing field in obtaining the approvals needed to place their vehicles on the market.

The UK strongly supports the introduction of Real Driving Emissions testing as part of type approval requirements. This is expected to significantly reduce real world emissions from new cars and vans, and make it almost impossible for manufacturers to manipulate emissions. The UK is pressing for final agreement of these requirements before Christmas this year.