§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what is his estimate of the cost of(a) Ministerial cars and drivers and (b) the Department's bill for taxis in (i) 1995–96, (ii) 1996–97, (iii) 1997–98 to date and (iv) 1997–98 full year. [27751]
§ Mr. Tom Clarke[holding answer 5 February 1998]: The available information is given in the table:
£ Year Ministerial cars and drivers Taxis 1995–96 1236,115 11,208 1996–97 176,031 16,681 1997–98 (spend to date) 192,657 13,976 1997–98 (estimate) 225,000 n/a 1 Expenditure on Government Car Service, includes non-ministerial expenditure, eg. Permanent Secretary's Car.