A total of 17 local authorities have been awarded grants for a wide variety of cutting-edge, pollution reducing technologies, which will now be fitted to 1,163 vehicles.

In addition, the Department for Transport also announced the allocation of an additional £50,000 of funding to help local authorities monitor the results of their clean technology projects.

Baroness Kramer said: ‘The £5 million Clean Vehicle Technology Fund means councils can now lead the way on introducing greener vehicles on their local streets. We received imaginative applications from local authorities from across England for vehicles including buses, taxis, vans, fire engines and ambulances. All the schemes will lower emissions in busy towns and cities.

‘The funding we are providing will result in real public health benefits while supporting skilled jobs and economic growth in the environmental technologies industries.’

The 2014 Clean Vehicle Technology Fund builds on last year’s Clean Bus Technology Fund pilot which awarded £7.3 million across 26 local authorities to fund the modification of over 500 buses using both innovative and proven technologies.

Previous rounds of the CVTF have been available for buses only and this is the first time that funding has been available for a wider range of public service vehicles.

As part of the requirements of the CVTF, successful projects are required to monitoring the effectiveness of the technologies and provide a useful learning tool to other local authorities considering green vehicle upgrades.