§ Lord Hill-Nortonasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many official cars and drivers are provided for Ministers, what is the average daily mileage of such cars and what is the total forecast cost of this provision in the current financial year.
§ Lord McIntosh of HaringeyResponsibility for the subject of this question has been delegated to the Government Car and Despatch Agency under its Chief Executive, Mr. Nick Matheson. The agency is therefore responding to the question.
Letter to Lord Hill-Norton from the Chief Executive of the Government Car and Despatch Agency dated 28 July 1997.
I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question on the number of official cars and drivers provided for Ministers, the average daily mileage of such cars, and the total forecast cost of this provision in the current financial year. I am the Chief Executive of the Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) which is responsible for the Government Car Service (GCS).
The GCS provides 81 cars and drivers for 84 Government Ministers. The average daily mileage per car is 52.65 miles. I should point out that this average mileage also includes any non-ministerial use of cars. The forecast cost for providing the basic service to Ministers is £4,021,000. Each Minister's private office contracts with the GCS for the provision of a car and driver. The GCS charges the Minister's private office for the service on a basis that recovers all costs.