GREATER USE OF WATERWAYS FOR FREIGHT

That this House congratulates Tesco's for switching from lorry to water the transport of its new world wine over the 32 miles from Liverpool to its bottling plant in Irlam saving 50 lorry trips a week and cutting carbon emissions by 80 per cent.; notes Sainsbury's has recently conducted similar trials in London; believes the Department for Transport should create a dedicated unit to encourage greater use of our inland and coastal waterways as recommended by the recent Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee report on British Waterways recommending fiscal incentives to stimulate greater waterways use; and believes much can be learnt from other countries in Europe on using British waterways to reduce noise, pollution and traffic congestion.