Internet shopping vans could be banned from delivering to office staff in a bid to slash congestion on the capital’s streets.

The radical plan was outlined by Val Shawcross, London’s deputy mayor for transport, in a speech to MPs in which she revealed that light vans now account for a fifth of traffic in the city centre.

Councillor Shawcross said that companies should consider banning workers from ordering goods direct to work, and instead promote click-and-collect facilities at transport hubs “so that people can collect their deliveries on the way home”.

“We ought to be encouraging employers to ban private deliveries to premises in central London,” she said.

“We need to be looking at click-and-collect type facilities in public transport modes so that people can collect their deliveries on the way home.”

The comments to MPs came as the capital’s air pollution crisis caused it to slip below Paris and Lyon in an annual survey measuring urban quality of life.

Results from global HR firm Mercer’s 2017 survey show London falling to 40th out of 231 global cities.

The capital came in behind 22 European cities including Berlin, Amsterdam, and Brussels, scoring badly on markers including traffic congestion and air pollution.

Kate Fitzpatrick from Mercer said while London was not able to improve its score in categories such as the weather: “Congestion and pollution is in their gift.”

Vienna topped the list for the third year in a row.

Last month Mayor Sadiq Khan announced a £10 levy on heavy-polluting diesel vehicles driving in the capital, in a bid to tackle London’s filthy air.

More than 9,000 Londoners are believed to suffer an early death due to air pollution.