§ Mr. KidneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many road vehicles are operated by the Department and its agencies; how many personal injury accidents involving road vehicles operated by the Department have occurred within each of the last five years; and what the Department's policy is for managing work-related road safety. [185919]
§ Mr. RammellThe Foreign and Commonwealth Office operates a fleet of 1,361 official vehicles; this is split between the home vehicle fleet (46 vehicles) and the overseas fleet (1,315 vehicles).
The number of personal injury claims in each of the last five years that have involved official departmental vehicle# are as follows:
- 1999–2000: 1 claim (9 September 1999)
- 2000–01: 0
- 2001–02: 1 claim (18 March 2002)
- 2002–03: 0
- 2003–04: 2 claims (29 September 2003 and 4 March 2004)
Road Safety forms a vital element of the training and development for our UK Fleet Managers. All UK Fleet Managers hold the Certificate of Professional Competence in National Road Haulage Operations. This professional qualification trains Fleet Management 1064W teams in the many road safety factors that their driving/ maintenance teams must adhere to in the law. All vehicles are fully and properly maintained and driving hours/rest period regulations are monitored as required by the regulations. Other driving/maintenance safety training has been provided to increase the knowledge and proficiency of UK based driving/support teams. To provide details of our overseas fleets and their road safety policies in the form requested could be provided only at disproportionate cats. Different Regions have a range of special conditions that will need to be complied with by local fleets.
I also refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Mr. Alexander) on 22 July 2004, Official Report, column 490W).