§ Mr. RedwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cars are(a) owned and (b) leased by DEFRA for Ministers and staff to use. [81015]
§ Alun MichaelThe Department leases six cars from the Government Car service and owns 349 vehicles (including vans) for Defra Ministers and staff to use.
§ Mr. RedwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the 2002–03 budget is for cars and car travel by(a) Ministers and (b) staff of Defra. [81016]
§ Alun MichaelThe standard annual cost of the five Defra Ministerial cars is in the order of £283,000 for 2002–03.164W So far this year Defra has only purchased one car at a cost of approximately £10,700. There is not a yearly set budget for the purchase of Defra cars or for car travel more generally. We do not hold centralised records of car travel in the Department.