§ Mr. HendersonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many vehicles and at what value were purchased by(a) his Department, (b) the police and fire services and (c) other public sector agencies for which he is responsible, in 1988; and how many of these vehicles were British-made within the definition of British as set out by the Department of Trade and Industry in its arrangements on content with the European Community.
§ Mr. Douglas Hogg[holding answer 17 April 1989]: A total of 181 vehicles was purchased by the Home Office in 1988, at a cost of £1.95 million. Of these, 173 were described by the manufacturers as United Kingdom-produced, on the definition employed by the Department of Trade and Industry for statistical purposes, under which a vehicle is classified as United Kingdom-produced if the United Kingdom content exceeds 50 per cent. of the ex-works value.
Information on the country of origin of vehicles purchased by individual police forces and fire brigades and by public sector agencies is not held centrally. However, about 80 per cent. of the vehicles in use in the police service in 1988 are reported to be United Kingdom-produced.