§ Mr. Robin CookTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average age of the ambulance vehicles of the London ambulance service; and how many vehicles are(a) between three and five years old and (b) five years or more.
§ Mr. DorrellThis information is not collected centrally. The hon. Member may wish to contact Mr. Jim Harris, the chairman of the London Ambulance Service, for details.
§ Mr. Robin CookTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department has issued on the expected working life of ambulance vehicles; and what information his Department has on the actual average working life of ambulance vehicles.
§ Mr. DorrellInformation on vehicle life is not collected centrally.
Current guidance relates to capital provision for routine replacement programmes, based on glass-reinforced plastic-bodied ambulances. Under normal standards of high maintenance, such provision should be based on an assumed vehicle life of seven years or 140,000 miles. The guidance is not necessarily appropriate to all coach-built vehicles or to other types of ambulance vehicle, and health authorities are free to modify the guidelines to take account of local conditions and other relevant factors, such as maintenance costs and frequency of use.