Written question asked by Thomas Docherty (Labour) on Tuesday, 21 February 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 27 February 2012. It was answered by David Lidington (Conservative) on Monday, 27 February 2012 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

British Overseas Territories

Question: (2) what proportion of cars (a) owned and (b) leased by UK (i) embassies, (ii) high commissions and (iii) Governors' offices in overseas territories are manufactured in the UK.

Answer: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) overseas vehicle fleet comprises approximately 1,480 vehicles, most of which are owned by the FCO. The fleet comprises a mixture of protected and soft skin vehicles and vans and trucks.The procurement of vehicles for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is based on achieving value for money, normally by competition and in a manner that conforms with appropriate UK regulations and EU procurement directives. Within that approach, we prefer British missions abroad to buy British branded cars for heads of posts, where they are available and will represent value for money over the entire lifecycle of the asset.The FCO's preferred flag cars are Jaguar and Land or Range Rovers. This is supported by central contracts that have been negotiated against strict value for money criteria. Pool cars for day to day operational use by staff at posts are sourced locally on the basis of value for money. Information about how many cars overseas are leased or the proportion of those manufactured in the UK is not held centrally. To provide this would incur disproportionate cost.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 96339; 541 c9W
Session: 2010-12
Subjects: British overseas territories Diplomatic service Vehicles Embassies
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk