§ Mr. Macfarlaneasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will change his Department's policy to enable disabled drivers to purchase their vehicles before the vehicle is taken to the central auction sale.
§ Mr. Alfred MorrisIt is my Department's long-standing practice to reallocate to other eligible disabled people those of our cars which, having been given up for any reason, are suitable for reissue. Only cars not suitable for that purpose are sold as surplus to requirements. For the reasons I gave in my recent letter to the hon. Member, it is customary to sell surplus Government vehicles by public auction and not by private treaty.
Surplus cars sold by my Department are mainly those which are showing signs of extensive wear and tear or have been damaged in accidents. They are sent to the Government disposal centre at Ruddington near Nottingham. The regular sales are widely advertised and well known to organisations of disabled people as a source of cars formerly used by disabled drivers. My Department is currently considering the desirability of selling surplus vehicles at local auctions rather than through the Ruddington centre. We shall, in fact, be doing this on a trial basis in the case which the hon. Member recently brought to my attention, and the Department will be contacting the hon. Member's constituent to advise him accordingly.