HC Deb 27 March 1987 vol 113 c290W
Mr. Austin Mitchell

asked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) whether he will publish in the Official Report his estimate of the number of cars bought by business in the most recent period of 12 months for which figures are available, together with a breakdown by engine size;

(2) whether he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the estimated number of passenger cars owned by businesses of all kinds, the number and cost of new cars purchased by such businesses in the latest year for which information is available, the corresponding figures for cars used by the owners, directors and higher-paid employees of such businesses, together with such information as he has available generally or for particular groups of the size, cost or quality of car purchased.

Mr. Peter Bottomley

At the end of 1986, 2.04 million cars in Great Britain were registered in a company name. The number of these cars used by owners, directors and high-paid employees is not known. The Inland Revenue has estimated that some 1.15 million directors and higher-paid employees in the United Kingdom are expected to have a company car for private use in 1987–88.

Information about the number of new vehicle registrations in Great Britain in the 12 months to January 1987 is given in the table. Information about the cost of these vehicles is not available.