§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of the vehicles due for replacement by(a) his Department and (b) bodies listed in the National Asset Register in (i) 1998–99, (ii) 1999–2000 and (iii) 2000–01 will be replaced by vehicles using (1) petrol, (2) diesel, (3) natural gas, (4) electric batteries and (5) other. [52621]
§ Mr. FatchettThe expected replacement programme for official vehicles at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is:
Year Overseas Home 1998–1999 189 5 1999–2000 254 9 2000–2001 160 8 Detailed information about the fuel types to be chosen for replacement vehicles to be purchased at FCO Posts overseas is not known. In each case, this will depend on the type of vehicle required, and the availability of fuel types in each country at the time of purchase.
Of the vehicles to be replaced in the FCO home fleet, the five replacement vehicles for 1998–99, have already been bought and consist of 3 petrol saloon cars and 2 diesel commercial vehicles. No advance decisions have been taken about the types of fuel for the replacement vehicles needed in future years. This will be carefully assessed at the time, based on vehicle requirements, technical advances in commercially available fuel types and availability.