Brendan Ryan (Labour)

Section 97 deals with hybrid vehicles. I am surprised this is still a temporary provision, rather than a permanent one. The Government can change that in the future if it wishes. I would have thought the environmental benefits of hybrid vehicles were so obvious that we could make this provision a permanent one. Automobile manufacturers would not have a degree of security for future investment decisions if governments worldwide did not give them a reasonable period of time to persuade consumers to buy cars that are much more environmentally friendly. I do not understand why the exemption under section 97 is only being extended to the end of 2006. This is not the way to encourage an environmentally beneficial change in car technology. I urge the Minister to clarify the issue as soon as possible and let us let people know that this exemption for hybrid vehicles will operate indefinitely.