To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the categories of vehicle among the 400 Army vehicles in London district covered by the contract maintenance scheme; and to which specific units they are allocated.
The information is as follows:
| Categories of vehicles covered by the London district contract maintenance scheme and their distribution | |||||
| Vehicle type | Site 1 | Site 2 | Site 3 | Site 4 | Total |
| Car saloon grade A | 35 | — | 1 | — | 36 |
| Car saloon grade B | 51 | 3 | 11 | 3 | 68 |
| Car saloon grade C | 45 | 12 | 17 | 2 | 76 |
| Car utility small | 32 | 14 | 24 | 7 | 77 |
| Minibus 13 seater | 35 | 15 | 11 | 2 | 63 |
| Minibus 17 seater | 6 | 2 | 8 | — | 16 |
| Van 3·5 tonne (diesel) | 22 | — | — | 12 | 34 |
| Van 3·5 tonne (petrol) | 14 | 4 | 2 | — | 20 |
| Truck 7·5 tonne (W/tail lift) | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 11 |
| Truck 7·5 tonne (curtain sided) | — | 2 | 2 | — | 4 |
| Truck van 10 tonne (box body) | 8 | — | — | — | 8 |
| Transit ambulance | — | 9 | — | — | 9 |
| Total | 252 | 62 | 78 | 30 | 422 |
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence under what circumstances officers in each of the three services are issued with cars without the services of a driver.
Officers are issued with self-drive cars when this is the most cost-effective means of providing transport to enable them to fulfil their duties.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the lowest rank in each of the three services which confers entitlement to the exclusive use of a staff car.
Entitlement to a staff car is determined by an officer's appointment rather than by his rank. Officers in command of major units are allocated cars, but other personnel whose duties justify exclusive use of a car may also be entitled.