Government Car Service

HL Deb 31 October 2001 vol 627 cc166-7WA

Lord Donoughue

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What cost is charged by the Government Car Service to Ministers and officials at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (per year) for the supply of cars (and, separately, of drivers); what is the book value of the cars (a) individually and (b) in total; and what is the total "overhead" charged by the Government Car Service for these cars. [HL920]

Lord Whitty

The Government Car Service (GCS) provides permanently allocated cars and drivers to five Ministers and the Permanent Secretary in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). The total cost of providing this service for 2001–02 is estimated at £323,000, including £193,000 for drivers.

GCS provides individual contracts covering three years for each vehicle and driver. Each contract covers the cost of providing the vehicle, including road tax and insurance, annual maintenance charges, provision of a relief car and driver, and fuel charges; a depreciation charge based on the vehicle's estimated residual value at the end of three years; the full costs of the driver; and a charge to cover the overheads of providing the service. GCS is required to recover all its costs from its customers, but there is no element of profit in the charge GCS makes.

The net book capital value of these vehicles as at 31 March 2001 was £11,070; £10,847; £7,729; £7,684; £7,229 and £6,414. This gives a total value of £50,973. The wide band of values represents the mix and ages of the vehicles in question.

The total overhead charged by GCS for the provision of these services for 2001–02 is £80,300.