Road Traffic (Vehicle Emissions) (Fixed Penalty Notice) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2026: Draft Regulatory Impact Assessment

August 2025

Three options have been considered to achieve the Welsh Government’s objective of tackling pollution arising from stationary idling:

• Option one (business as usual) – take no specific action at this stage, Fixed Penalty Notices for idling offences to remain at the current level
• Option two (do minimum) – strengthen the current approach through new guidance
• Option three (introduce regulations) – amend the current penalties regime as well as issue supporting guidance for local authorities, and introduce a range of ‘behaviour-change measures’.

1.1  Option one – Do Nothing, business as usual scenario  

a. Description

Under this option, the status quo would be maintained. local authority anti-idling guidance would not be produced, and regulations setting a new  penalty range for stationary idling offences would not be made. However, some policy work would still continue as part of the duty on Welsh Ministers, under the Environment (Air Quality & Soundscapes) (Wales) Act 2024, to promote awareness of air pollution and ways of limiting, or reducing, air pollution. Potential funding to enable local authorities to deliver anti-idling initiatives may continue to be available through our Local Air Quality Management Support Fund.

The current legislative framework applicable to Wales is formed in part by the Road Traffic (Vehicle Emissions) (Fixed Penalty) (Wales) Regulations 2003. These define ‘stationary idling offence’ as a contravention of, or failure to comply with so much of regulation 98 (stopping of engine when stationary) of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 (“the 1986 Regulations”) as relates to the prevention of exhaust emissions.  

Regulations 12 provides that where they have reasonable cause to believe that the driver of a vehicle is committing a stationary idling offence i.e. the person has not complied with regulation 98 of the 1986 Regulations an authorised person can require the driver to turn off the engine. If the driver does not turn off the engine, they are guilty of an offence and are liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale (£1000).  

Regulation 13 provides that an authorised person (which means an authorised officer of the local authority, or any other person authorised by the local authority) may issue a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) to the driver of the vehicle where they consider a stationary idling offence has been committed. A person cannot be convicted for a statutory idling offence under regulation 12 where a FPN has been issued if it is paid before the expiry of the period for paying it.  

Regulation 8(b) of the 2003 Regulations provides that the penalty amount is set at £20. Regulation 18 provides a person issued with a FPN may request a hearing. Regulation 17(5) and (6)(c) provides that the penalty amount rises to £40 if it is not paid within the specified payment period or if the recipient has not given a notice requesting a hearing. A person may also appeal a FPN by way of applying to the appropriate authority (i.e. the local authority), where the local authority may determine that the notice ought not to have been issued or where it was issued to the wrong person the notice may be withdrawn (regulation 20). Regulation 21 provides that where the penalty has not been paid by its specified payment date a county court may order it recoverable by execution issued from the county court or otherwise as if it were payable under an order of that court and pursuant to regulation 22 the Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts Order 1993 applies.

Option One is provided as a baseline for comparison with the potential benefits of strengthening the current legislative framework.  

b. Costs

There would be no additional costs to local authorities or Welsh Government under this option.

Idling can be an issue [Public Health England] where there are regular occurrences of concentrated and sustained idling. It can be exacerbated by older vehicles with less effective after treatment systems (where diesel exhausts emitted by the engine are not cleaned as well as in more modern vehicles prior to being relayed through the tailpipe to the air outside). Examples of locations where idling is a common concern are school streets (especially as concern for children’s health is a common theme in relation to the impacts of idling); in city/town centres, transport hubs (bus stations and taxi ranks), health centres including GP surgeries, clinics and care homes, etc. The increased costs of inaction would encompass health care costs; increased social costs; and the costs of sick leave and the resultant impact on economic productivity.

Idling can significantly impact local air quality and expose the public, as well as the vehicle occupants, to pollutants harmful to health. Research undertaken by TRL1 considered the example of emissions from a single family / estate car idling outside the school gates for five minutes. In the case of a diesel vehicle, this would produce up to 51.93 litres of CO2 and, if petrol, up to 27.45 litres. Noting that the average volume of air a child breathes in one minute is 5-6 litres, TRL add that; “If they were stood at the school gates for the same time period as the vehicle is idling, the child could inhale a considerable volume of this emitted CO2.”

Despite existing powers to enforce stationary idling offences, Local Authorities have not generally used these, and Welsh Government does not hold any data pertaining to the numbers of FPN’s issued in recent years which are assumed to be very low, or zero. No data is held, either, on the amount local authorities currently spend on enforcing stationary idling but this is also believed to be very low, or zero.

Campaign activity to encourage drivers to switch off has been patchy across Wales, with only a small number of local authorities delivering specific initiatives, some activity being supported through our Local Air Quality Management Support Fund.  

Without intervention to change the minimal intervention by local authorities across Wales, stationary idling will continue to contribute unnecessarily to local air pollution with a consequent risk to public health.

c. Benefits

There would be no additional expenditure for local authorities. Local authorities would continue to benefit from funding to support air quality action through our Local Air Quality Management Support Fund. Some awareness-raising may also be undertaken as part of our proposed Raising Awareness of Air Pollution Delivery Plan which will be consulted on in 2025.

d. Summary

Option One would amount to the preservation of the status quo with no additional expenditure for local authorities. However, we would lose the opportunity to potentially reduce risk to vulnerable receptors in idling hotspots by the deterrence of higher fines. In relation to air pollution more generally, the costs to health and social care services would be likely to increase in future years in order to deal with the health impacts of poor air quality.

1.2  Option Two – Strengthen and re-emphasise current approach through new guidance  

a. Description

Under this option new guidance could be issued by the Welsh Ministers to local authorities in relation to vehicle engine idling. The Welsh Ministers could rely on section 88(1) of the Environment Act 1995 to issue guidance.  

The guidance could, amongst other things, point to the benefits of focusing on protecting vulnerable receptors and targeting vehicle engine idling ‘hot spots’ where concentrated, sustained idling occurs. This could minimise risk to the most vulnerable in society, such as children or those in health care settings or in residential care homes.  

Welsh Government will be looking to engage with local authorities on the guidance prior to publication. In this way, we can ensure that any guidance would meet the needs of local authorities to help them develop vehicle engine anti-idling strategies and advise on how these could be incorporated into a wider package of complementary measures designed to reduce air pollution.

b. Costs

Costs to Welsh Government

The cost of creating and publishing guidance would fall on the Welsh Government and should it be produced it is estimated to cost around £16.4k in the 2025/26 financial period, consisting of:

• £15.8k (over a 12-month period) for staff resources to draft the guidance, manage consultations with stakeholders and publication of responses and final documents  
• £630 for the additional cost for translation of the guidance

Costs to Local Authorities

This option does not directly create additional costs to local authorities other than a small amount of staff time to become familiar with new Welsh Government guidance.

Local authorities may choose to deliver a public awareness campaign to promote best practice in the community based on the detail within the guidance. These costs are difficult to quantify as the mechanics of delivering public awareness campaigns will be determined by each local authority and it is not possible to predict the extent to which individual local authorities will adopt anti-idling strategies. However, indicative costs based on Lambeth Council’s decision to enforce vehicle engine anti-idling in 2020 were around £18.5k, consisting of:

• £15k for the development and erection of information signs across Lambeth, particularly around schools and in hot spots
• £3.5k for communication activities to promote vehicle engine anti-idling

Financial support for local authorities to cover the costs of implementing local anti-idling strategies (such as educational materials, promotional materials and awareness raising) may be available through the Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) Support Fund (as outlined in Table 7 of the Explanatory Memorandum for the Environment (Air Quality and Soundscapes) (Wales) Bill 2023) (Senedd website), and the Promoting Awareness budget (of up to £575k per annum).

Some elements of the costs may potentially be recurring over a number of financial years (e.g. communications and engagement), whereas others may be one-off costs incurred in a single financial year (e.g. signage and equipment).

The guidance could recommend ways in which local authorities could work with schools to promote anti-idling awareness, education and behaviour change. Similarly, healthcare settings could implement anti-idling toolkits. The resources for such work already exist, such as the following Toolkit For Local Authorities (idlingaction.london).

Costs to businesses or private homeowners

This option will not impose any cost to businesses or private homeowners.  

Health & Social Costs / Societal Costs

Additional health and social costs will be incurred if action is not taken to address air pollution from sources such as stationary vehicles.  

A 2016 report from Public Health Wales estimated the societal cost (Public Health Wales) of air pollution in Wales to be £1 billion per annum. This figure includes health service costs and lost work days. However, it is unclear how much of this cost can be attributed to the problem of stationary idling.

*Note – local authority costs cannot be quantified as this will depend on the uptake of each authority.

c. Benefits

Improved and clearer guidance will make the need for local authority action more explicit. We envisage that the guidance will comprise a number of elements:  

• emphasis on educating and informing before resorting to the use of Fixed Penalty Notices (which will be a last resort)
• awareness-raising and achieving behaviour change
• interconnections between air quality and noise and how improving air quality can bring about benefits for the soundscape
• developing and implementing anti-idling strategies and signposting to existing resources, such as anti-idling toolkits; and  
• incorporating anti-idling strategies into a wider package of complementary interventions.  

The guidance will also explain the interconnections between air quality and noise and how improving air quality can bring about additional benefits to the soundscape.  

Additionally, issuing guidance would contribute to the Welsh Government’s overall policy of reducing emissions from transport.

Guidance offers the potential for implementation of actions that will improve air quality in Wales, contribute towards reducing costs to health services and ultimately minimise risks to vulnerable receptors. For children, the benefits of tackling air pollution can go beyond the protection of their health. Modelling (The University of Manchester) undertaken by Global Action Plan, the Philips Foundation and the University of Manchester suggested that reducing air pollution in and around school grounds could improve the development of a child’s working memory by 6%, the equivalent of four weeks extra learning time per year.  

In comparison to Option 1, Option 2 would be expected to lead to increased and improved Local Authority activity to tackle stationary idling, and an increase in applications to Local Air Quality Management Support Fund for specific anti-idling initiatives.

A reduction in instances of stationary idling would generate air quality improvements and would further benefit drivers through savings in fuel costs.

d. Summary  

The outcomes of implementation of guidance provides the opportunity to greater emphasise and demonstrate the links between air quality and noise/soundscape, and if behaviour change is achieved through education, then the need for enforcement may be greatly reduced.  

Sources of air pollution and noise are typically either identical or closely linked, their transmission pathways are similar, and the most affected receptors are often the same people (usually the people who are situated closest to the source).  

Officials have concluded that this option has obvious advantages, such as re-emphasising and strengthening the current vehicle engine anti-idling regime. However, current penalty amounts for idling offences are believed to be too low to offer sufficient deterrence and are unlikely to be viable for local authorities to enforce.

1.3  Option Three – Amend the current penalties regime and issue guidance  

a. Description  

Under this option, the policy and legislative framework governing anti-idling would be strengthened by:  

• Amending the Road Traffic (Vehicle Emissions) (Fixed Penalty) (Wales) Regulations 2003 to introduce a range of penalties for vehicle engine idling offences; and
• Issuing new guidance under section 88(1) of the Environment Act 1995 in relation to vehicle engine anti-idling to support local authorities in effectively developing their own anti-idling strategies (as outlined in Option Two but to include advice on implementing legislative changes).

The introduction of a penalty range would be expected to increase the deterrence effect and help to reduce emissions, which will have further benefits for noise and soundscape. Local authorities would have the discretionary power to impose a penalty amounts from within the prescribed range for vehicle engine idling offences. Higher penalty amounts would increase the viability of enforcement as a local authority tool to tackle this offence.  

As per Option Two, the guidance would, amongst other things, point to the benefits of focusing on protecting vulnerable receptors and targeting vehicle engine idling ‘hot spots’ where concentrated, sustained idling occurs. This would minimise risk to the most vulnerable in society, such as children or those in health care settings or in residential care homes.  

b. Costs

Welsh Government

As outlined in Option Two, the cost of creating and publishing guidance will fall on the Welsh Government and is estimated to cost around £16.4k, consisting of:

• £15.8k (over a 12-month period) for staff resources to draft the guidance, manage consultations with stakeholders and publication of responses and final documents  
• £630 for the additional cost for translation of the guidance

It is proposed to undertake a communications campaign to raise public awareness of the existing offence of stationary idling, and to inform drivers of the potential for increased penalties following the coming into force of the new regulations.

The campaign would be undertaken from early 2026 as part of the delivery of our forthcoming Raising Awareness of Air Pollution Delivery Plan. The budget for the Plan is £500k pa for the full range of activity of which anti-idling forms a small part. It is not possible to disaggregate the anti-idling awareness component from the full budget figure, so reference is made only to the overall budget.

The expected lifespan of the Delivery Plan is three years, and it is expected that some degree of anti-idling activity will continue for the full duration. It is assumed that activity will commence in January 2026, and therefore costs in 2025-26 would reflect a twelfth of the Delivery Plan budget (£125k).

We recognise that the expected lifespan of the delivery plan is three years, and it will be for the next administration to determine if it wishes to commit the relevant funding.

Local Authorities

For costs relating to implementation of new guidance, please refer to those outlined in Option Two, i.e. Local authorities may choose to develop a local campaign, with an estimated cost of around £18.5k based on the scheme delivered in Lambeth Council:

• Public awareness campaign:
  • £15k for the development and erection of information signs across Lambeth, particularly around schools and in hot spots
  • £3.5k for communication activities to promote vehicle engine anti-idling.

Local authorities may be able to apply for a Welsh Government grant, through the Local Air Quality Management Support Fund, to support the costs of local anti-idling campaigns.

It is not possible to quantify costs to local authorities from the proposed legislative change as there is no duty falling on them to enforce idling offences. Ultimately, whether to appoint enforcement staff or not, and what level of enforcement officer capacity should be allocated, are matters for individual local authorities to determine. This will be informed, partly, by the extent to which stationary idling is identified as a particular problem within their area.

However, with the opportunity for increased penalty levels, some local authorities may decide to allocate additional resource to idling enforcement on the basis that revenues raised could offset enforcement officer resource costs so enforcement could become self-sustaining. Enforcement officer salaries will vary according to region and experience, but a starting point for a full-time post could be around £25k pa plus on costs based on recent vacancies advertised on GOV.UK.

Local authorities may also consider adding idling enforcement to existing officer duties, for example by adding this to parking enforcement officer roles.

It is ultimately within the discretion of each local authority to decide what action they take and when.

The proposed guidance will place emphasis on educating and informing the public before resorting to the use of FPNs. It will remain the case that an person authorised by a local authority who has reasonable cause to believe that a driver is committing a stationary vehicle engine idling offence on the public highway must require the driver to switch off the engine before resorting to issuing an FPN.

There is the potential for local authorities to share costs around the publicity and implementation phases to include Enforcement Officer training and consistency of enforcement exercises. 

It can be argued that the guidance on developing and implementing vehicle engine anti-idling measures would lead to a diminishing need for enforcement. By way of example, the guidance could recommend ways in which local authorities could work with schools to promote anti-idling awareness, education and behaviour change. Similarly, healthcare settings could implement anti-idling toolkits. The resources for such work already exist, such as the following Toolkit For Local Authorities (idlingaction.london).

It is worth emphasising that the ultimate aims of these provisions are cleaner air and a healthier environment for all, and generating profits at the cost of motorists is not the purpose. A restriction may be placed on the use of any profits arising from enforcement income, requiring that Local Authorities use this money for specific purposes which could further benefit the environment.

In summary, the costs of local authority implementation of the proposed legislation are not possible to determine as there are too many uncertainties. However, no costs will arise should individual local authorities prefer to tackle idling without recourse to enforcement, or where penalty amounts are set at a level that makes enforcement self-financing.

Summary of costs associated with option 3 (£k)

*Note – Local Authority costs cannot be quantified as this will depend on the uptake of each authority. WG costs include the costs for our wider campaign to deliver awareness of air pollution.

c. Benefits

In terms of the implementation of new guidance, please refer to the benefits outlined in Option Two.

With regard to the introduction of a fixed penalties range for vehicle engine idling offences introduced by these Regulations, the following additional benefits are anticipated:

• discretionary power for local authorities to impose fixed penalty amounts for vehicle engine idling offences within a prescribed range.  
• increase the deterrence effect and help to reduce emissions, this will also help reduce unnecessary noise levels associated with engine idling but it is not the purpose of the legislation
• complement the Welsh Government’s overall policy of reducing emissions from transport
• contribute to better health and the reduction of health and social costs.
• potential for additional expenditure incurred by local authorities to be offset by revenue received from fixed penalties and for local authorities to share costs around the publicity and implementation phases to include officer training and consistency of enforcement exercises

It is worth emphasising, however, that the ultimate aims of these provisions are cleaner air and a healthier environment for all not revenue generation.

As noted above, Public Health Wales estimated in 2016 that the health and social costs of air pollution in Wales is £1 billion per annum.  However, it is not possible to determine either how much of this cost is attributable to vehicle idling nor the extent to which these Regulations might help to reduce the cost.

d. Summary

Option Three is the preferred option as the Welsh Government believes a combination of improvements to the penalty regime and the issue of new guidance is likely to be the most effective of the options in delivering change.  

There is a clear need to minimise the risks from air pollution to the most vulnerable in society, such as children and those in health care settings and care homes. Vulnerable receptors often have pre-existing health conditions which can be exacerbated by emissions. As described above, the intention is for the guidance on developing vehicle engine anti-idling measures to focus in part on education, awareness-raising and behaviour change which would potentially reduce the need for active enforcement

The Welsh Government expects to conduct stakeholder engagement with local authorities on the guidance next year prior to publication by the end of July 2026. In this way, we can ensure that the guidance meets the needs of local authorities by helping them to develop anti-idling strategies and advising on how these can be incorporated into a wider package of complementary measures designed to reduce air pollution.

A Competition Filter Assessment has been undertaken to assess the potential impact associated with the proposals. This policy is not expected to have a detrimental effect on levels of competition in Wales or the competitiveness of Welsh firms as the proposals do not have any direct effect on businesses or any markets. The results of a filter test (consisting of nine yes/no questions) which support this conclusion are below

The Welsh Government has already committed to conduct a post-implementation review of the Environment (Air Quality and Soundscapes) (Wales) Act 2024 (legislation.gov.uk) legislation no later than five years after it has come into force (as outlined in section 9 of the associated Explanatory Memorandum (senedd.wales).  

This review will include an assessment of the effectiveness of the introduction of a penalty range pursuant to the Road Traffic (Vehicle Emissions) (Fixed Penalty Notice) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2026.