§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to the answer of 9 May, Official Report, column 467–68, if he will give the reasons for the annual increases of £2,600 between the years 1980–81 and 1981–82 and between 1981–82 and 1982–83 in respect of costs to provide cars for the Secretary of State and five of the departmental Ministers; why the increases were uniform; why the costs of car provision for one of the Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State declined by £8,060 between 1980–81 and 1981–82 when costs were increasing for all other Ministers; what caused the annual increase in car costs of £4,680 for all Ministers between 1982–83 and 1983–84 except one; and why the costs remained stable for the Secretary of State's car between 1983–84 and 1984–85 whilst over the same period it declined by a uniform £2,600 per annum in respect of four of his departmental Ministers.
§ Mr. Patrick JenkinI shall answer this question shortly.
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