§ Mr. Marplesasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department buys retreaded or remoulded tyres; and what proportion of 523W the total tyres procured in the most recent convenient year these represented.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesNo such tyres are procured.
§ Mr. Marplesasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the present size of stocks of tyres held by his Department, expressed both in numbers of tyres and in total money value of tyres.
§ Mr. Merlyn Rees1,667, to the value of £9,200.
§ Mr. Marplesasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) with how many contractors and to what total value he has contracts for the supply of tyres for periods exceeding three years from the beginning of the current financial year;
(2) for how many years ahead his Department has contracts for the supply of tyres;
(3) from how many different manufacturers his Department is buying tyres; and if he will give the total value of foreign made tyres bought by his Department during the most recent convenient year;
(4) if he will give the total expenditure of his Department on tyres during the most convenient recent year, together with the total number of tyres bought during that year; and if he will indicate the breakdown between those bought directly by his own Department and those bought on his behalf by other Departments, showing a breakdown of those other Departments.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesNo contracts for the supply of tyres are made by the Home Office; except for small purchases locally in cases of emergency, all requirements are obtained from the Ministry of Defence. The value of supplies from the Ministry in 1968–69 was approximately £11,000 for about 2,500 tyres covering a wide variety of sizes and types.
§ Mr. Marplesasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what
524W
1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 Value of contracts (£m.) … 3.9 4.6 7.0 6.6 8.2 Proportion let after competition … 67% 75% 77% 77% 78% plans he has to reduce the number of tyre sizes and types currently in use by his Department.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesThere are no specific plans to reduce the number of tyre sizes and types, but stocks are kept constantly under review in relation to the wide range of vehicles necessarily held by the Department.
§ Mr. Marplesasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of different tyre sizes currently in use on vehicles run by his Department, and the proportion of total tyres bought during the most recent convenient year, represented by the 10 most commonly used tyre sizes.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesThere are 41 tyre sizes in current use. 74 per cent. of tyres bought in 1968–69 were of the 10 most commonly used sizes.
§ Mr. Martenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the criteria employed in the replacement of tyres used by his Department, expressed in terms of mileage, time or wear.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesNo criteria as to mileage or time are laid down. Tyres are replaced when they reach the legal limit of wear and tear, or have been damaged and are beyond economical repair.