were individuals and 50 (96.1%) were organisations. Respondents that agreed with the proposed position were not prompted to give their reasoning. The introduction of the new plates on UK roads will raise awareness of the growing number of zero-emission vehicles, as well as helping motorists benefit from local initiatives such as cheaper parking and cost-free entry into zero-emission zones. a UK-wide mechanism which will enable people to spot and differentiate vehicles based on their environmental impact, help inform road-users and normalise the idea of clean vehicles on our roads. This plays an important part in encouraging road users to shift to cleaner vehicles

disagreed, of which 146 (13.2%) were individuals and 3 (5.9%) were organisations. The majority of these respondents did not provide a substantive view on what they thought would be more suitable. A number restated their view that the current, wider approach to number plate regulation required reform. Question 11: Do you agree that the visual characteristics of green number plates should only serve as a soft enforcement mechanism? In conjunction with the DVLA, government will now seek to amend the necessary legislation to implement the above scheme. The timescales for this are subject to Parliamentary time, but we will aim to do so with a view to introducing the number plates in the UK in Autumn 2020, so as to capture the emerging vehicle market and act when the awareness raising benefits are highest.of respondents agreed with the consultation proposal that only vehicles with zero tailpipe emissions (e.g. full battery or hydrogen fuel cell electric) should be eligible for green number plates. This comprised 827 individuals (74.2%) and 41 (75.9%) organisations. disagreed, of which 280 (25.3%) were individuals and 9 (19.1%) were organisations. A handful of respondents who disagreed with a light touch approach made a wider point that they felt the wider regulatory regime for number plate production and supply was insufficient, and needed tightening and more effective enforcement. Question 10: Do you agree with our proposal that the scheme should fit into the existing regulatory and enforcement landscape around the supply and display of eligible plates? agreed with the consultation proposal that green number plates should fit into the existing regulatory and enforcement landscape. This was comprised of 871 (78.8%) individuals and 47 (92.2%) organisations. Respondents that agreed with the proposed position were not prompted to give their reasoning.

Those respondents that disagreed with the approach cited a number of reasons. Many of these respondents referenced that stricter eligibility criteria would mean fewer green number plates on the road, and so lessen the awareness raising effect. Others pointed out that this approach could have the effect of making plug-in hybrids and other hybrids appear not green, when in practice they can bring significant environmental benefits. disagreed, of which 417 (37.7%) were individuals and 17 (36.2%) were organisations. Most of those who disagreed did not do so on the basis that they believed the scheme should be opt-in, but rather because they believed it should be mandatory with no opt-out. so as to increase awareness raising and visual impact. A number of respondents also raised concern that an opt-out system would create reliability issues with the scheme, and add complexity to enforcement for parking officers, for example. Question 7a: Do you agree that after the introduction of the plates both new and existing qualifying vehicles will be able to access them? disagreed, of which 156 (14.1%) were individuals and 2 (3.8%) were organisations. No substantive arguments were offered in support of this position. Question 8: Do you agree that green number plates should be open to qualifying cars, vans, taxis and motorbikes, but that buses, coaches and HGVs are out of scope?The vast majority of respondents agreed with the proposed position that green number plates should be available to new and existing qualifying vehicles. We are conscious this will require government and the DVLA to work closely with industry over the coming months to make clear the process for supplying and correctly issuing the plates. We will therefore implement green number plates based on them being available to new and existing qualifying vehicles.

green number plates will not be directly linked to local policies or incentives. As is the case now, it is for cities and local authorities to ensure any policies they introduce have an appropriate enforcement and penalty regime in place, which has an appropriate legal basis. Green number plates will provide a visual aid to help local authorities to identify ZEVs for the purposes of locally led policies and incentives, and local communication and awareness campaigns The consultation document set out a number of considerations relating to the design of the plates. These included the need to providing an effective awareness-raising and communications tool; establishing and maintaining buy-in and trust, such as by avoiding wider policy risks; and taking forward a design that can be delivered through legislative change in an appropriate timeframe to support the policy’s goals.The new number plates can be retro-fitted to any existing vehicles, including cars, vans, buses, HGVs, taxis and motorcycles as long as they emit no CO2 emissions at the tailpipe. They will consist of a green flash on the left-hand side of the plate and can be combined with the Union flag and national identifiers already permitted by the regulations. Government welcomes the views submitted on this proposal, and notes they provided for a meaningful discussion as to the approach of this policy. Two general positions that have emerged. One is to set eligibility at zero tailpipe emissions only, which would capture full battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell electric. Another approach is to set a lower requirement, stipulating requirements for grams of CO2 per kilometre and in some cases a zero emission range, which would also allow most plug-in hybrid electric vehicles ( PHEVs). The basis for respondents’ comments mirrored many of the considerations identified by government in the consultation document. These included the numbers of vehicles captured through the eligibility requirements; the ease at which the scheme could be understood and administered; the level of ambition and futureproofing; messaging around vehicles which are ineligible for green number plates; and, how eligibility fits with wider policy goals.