§ Mr. Anthony CoombsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement about progress in the privatisation of the Crown Suppliers' vehicle hire and maintenance business.
§ Sir George YoungThe Government have not been able to reach agreement with the only bidder about acceptable terms for the sale of the Crown Suppliers vehicle hire and maintenance business.
There is little justification for retaining in Government a business which provides services commonly provided by other suppliers. Furthermore, the workshops are unprofitable and future profits from vehicle hire are uncertain. Consequently the Government have decided to close the business. Every effort will be made to find alternative civil service posts for the staff but some redundancies are inevitable. The trade unions are being consulted about the implications for their members.
We are urgently considering the interests of customers of the business with a view to proposing alternative arrangements to meet their continuing requirements.