§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many official cars are available for use by 697W Ministers in his Department; and how many new cars have been acquired for the use of Ministers in his Department since 1 May. [25174]
§ Mr. Kilfoyle[holding answer 23 January 1998]: For this answer my Department includes the Prime Minister's Office, the Government Whips' Offices in the House of Lords and the House of Commons, and the Minister without Portfolio's Office.
My Department has six official cars allocated for use by Ministers. There has been no change in the number of allocated cars since 1 May 1997.
Since 1 May 1997 the Government Car Service has purchased 19 new vehicles for ministerial use across Government. Of these, 17 were to replace cars that were already being used by Ministers and had come to the end of their working life, and two were added to cover new ministerial posts.