To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department paid to the Government Car and Despatch Agency in each of the last five years; how much it has spent on such payments in 2009-10; and what proportion of such payments was made in respect of the Government Car Service. (316420)

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) paid £90,035 to the Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) in 2008-09, wholly for the Government Car Service (GCS). This amount includes the cost of the car allocated for use by the Secretary of State for Defence as reported by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport in his written ministerial statement on 16 July 2009, Official Report, columns 79-80WS. The Secretary of State’s car is provided as part of a range of security measures connected with the role. MOD payments to the GCDA so far in 2009-10 have totalled £90,535.