Mr. Vaneasked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation which Government Departments and statutory or other 101W bodies operate motor vehicles on the public roads without the payment of the usual licences; and what is the approximate number of such privileged vehicles.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterAll Government Departments are entitled to exemption from vehicle Excise licence duty. This exemption applies only to vehicles belonging to those Departments and used solely for official purposes by Crown employees or by employees of regional hospital boards, boards of governors of teaching hospitals and hospital management committees. Excluding vehicles belonging to the Service Departments, the number of such exemptions in 1953 was approximately 58,600.
The Departments principally concerned are listed below and the number of vehicles shown in brackets. Details of the types of vehicle are given in Tables 11 and 12 of the annual Census of Mechanically Propelled Road Vehicles (Return No. 164A) issued by the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation. Statutory or other bodies—e.g. National Coal Board, electricity boards, etc.—are not as such entitled to exemption from licence duty.
- Board of Inland Revenue (61).
- Department of Agriculture for Scotland (918).
- Department of Health for Scotland (934).
- Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (184).
- Forestry Commission (2,259).
- General Post Office (32,747).
- H.M. Customs and Excise (163).
- H.M. Stationery Office (57).
- Home Office (476).
- Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (5,035).
- Ministry of Education (170).
- Ministry of Food (418).
- Ministry of Health (3,648).
- Ministry of Labour and National Service (296).
- Ministry of Materials (242).
- Ministry of Supply (6,191).
- Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation (1,136).
- Ministry of Works (1,918).
- National Savings Committee (59).
- Ordnance Survey Office (369).
- Prison Commission (145).
- Scottish Home Department (57).