Hansard

Like other members, I support the principle of LEZs. My amendment 30 is intended to exempt historic vehicles from the rules on LEZs—a historic vehicle being defined as any vehicle that was “constructed more than 30 years before 1 January of the year in which it is driven ... within a low emission zone.” My amendment 31 would extend that provision to vehicles from other countries that meet the same criterion. I state that I have a personal interest in historic vehicles as the owner of a classic car and a member of the Stag Owners Club. I am grateful to the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs for its assistance in drafting my amendments and making the arguments. I know that its members have been energetically lobbying MSPs on the issue over the past few days. The FBHVC is an umbrella group that represents over 540 member clubs throughout the United Kingdom that have a total membership of more than a quarter of a million historic vehicle owners and enthusiasts. Interest in historic vehicles sustains economic activity that is worth £5.5 billion annually to the UK economy, and supports the employment of nearly 35,000 people right across the country. Historic vehicles include cars, motorcycles, buses, coaches, lorries, vans, military vehicles, tractors and steam engines. Such vehicles are no longer used primarily, if at all, as means of transportation, but are preserved, and in many cases have been restored, for their historic interest. Their owners exhibit them at exhibitions, shows, community fêtes and so on, and they have to use the highways in order to attend those events, but also to participate in touring events and for general leisure purposes. Without an exemption, individuals who live within an LEZ would not be able to own or operate a historic vehicle, which in my view would be an unreasonable restriction. Moreover, historic vehicles would no longer be able to drive through an LEZ, which would mean that historic vehicle exhibitions, rallies and events could no longer be held at venues in such places. The events are popular with the public and have major economic benefits. I feel that it would be an unintended consequence of the introduction of LEZs if historic vehicles were excluded in that fashion. I will give two other brief examples. The first is military vehicles. Today is the 75th anniversary of D day, as part of which we will see a parade of historic military vehicles on the south coast. If we do not exempt historic vehicles from LEZs, we will not be able to have parades of historic military vehicles down Princes Street or other streets in the centres of our cities. The other example is wedding cars. People like turning up for their wedding in a historic Rolls-Royce or Daimler bedecked with ribbons. If we do not exempt historic vehicles from LEZs, people will not be able to turn up for their weddings in churches, hotels or other wedding venues in the city centre in such style. That would be to the detriment of society as a whole, and not what was intended from the legislation. It goes without saying that the great majority of historic vehicles will not meet modern emissions standards, and it will therefore be the case that there will be higher pollution from a historic vehicle in an LEZ than from a more modern vehicle. However, we have to put that in perspective. Historic vehicles are seldom in regular use and tend to do very low mileage—commonly, no more than a few hundred miles per year. In total, historic vehicles represent 0.2 per cent of total traffic on UK roads. I do not think that there is a credible argument that a substantial pollution problem is likely to arise as a result of exempting historic vehicles, given how little they contribute to overall traffic. Amendment 30 seeks to exclude all historic vehicles that were registered more than 30 years ago, on a rolling basis. The Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 describes historic vehicles as those that are at least 40 years old, on a rolling basis. The DVLA uses that definition and currently all vehicles that are more than 40 years old are exempt from road tax and annual MOT. However, the international definition of historic vehicles applies to those that were built more than 30 years ago. That definition is recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and by the Fédération International des Véhicules Anciens—FIVA, which is the international umbrella organisation for historic vehicle owners. I believe that, in line with international practice, the 30-year cut-off point is the appropriate one. There is precedent for my proposal. The LEZs in England—the new London LEZ and the others that are being set up pursuant to the “Clean Air Strategy 2019”, by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs—all exempt historic vehicles. Therefore it would be appropriate for historic vehicles to be exempted from the LEZs that are to be established in Scotland. I hope that my comments were helpful. I am happy to respond to members’ comments.