§ Sir Brian MawhinneyTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many Government cars have been (i) stolen, (ii) hijacked and (iii) otherwise illegally lost to immediate use, broken down by(a) ministers' cars and (b) others since 1 May 1997. [57752]
§ Mr. KilfoyleResponsibility for this matter have been delegated under the terms of its Framework Document to the Government Car and Despatch Agency. I have asked its Chief Executive, Mr. Nick Matheson, to write to the right hon. Member.
Letter from Nick Matheson to Sir Brian Mawhinney, dated November 1998:
The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, has asked me in my capacity as Chief Executive of the Government Car and Despatch Agency to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the theft, hijacking, or other illegal loss of government cars. This Agency provides cars and drivers to some government departments. It is not responsible for all government cars.Of those cars provided by this Agency since 1 May 1997, only one car has been stolen. This was in June 1998 and was a non ministerial car used mainly for driver training purposes. No other cars have been hijacked or suffered any other illegal loss of use.