Decisions about the number and types of vehicles required by police forces are matters for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners locally.

Core central Government funding to police forces in England and Wales is allocated annually on the basis of the Police Allocation Formula. The formula incorporates a number of indicators linked to demand on the police and does not include consideration of police spending. Local spending decisions are for the relevant Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable.

Details of combat, protected patrol (PPV) and reconnaissance vehicles procured in the 1950s to 1990s, that are still in use are provided below.

[1] BULLDOG is based on the FV432 Mk2 hull which entered service in the 1980s. The FV432 Mk1 entered service in the 1960s and was replaced by the Mk2. The FV432 Mk1 is no longer in service.

[2] Snatch 1 was procured in the 1990s. In the 2000s Snatch I was upgraded and extensively refurbished to a number of build standards (Snatch 2, 2A and 2B) which remain in-service in a variety of roles.

[3] The first WMIK’s were procured in the 1990s. Additional WMIKs were procured in the 2000s to provide a reconnaissance capability. All in-service WMIKs have been upgraded and refurbished to a new build standard.

The proportion of the total fleet for each type of vehicles classified as fit for service in each year (as an average across the year) is included in the table below. Fit for service has been defined as achieving the minimum levels of safety performance (ballistic, blast, and structural integrity) as defined within the safety case.

[1] Cougar Variants comprise Mastiff, Ridgback and Wolfhound

[[2] Vector vehicles were withdrawn from operational tasking in 2009

The number of equipment failure reports filed for each vehicle is included within the table below. These totals are for all failures reported to the Equipment Failure Reporting System; this will include reports raised incorrectly or unnecessarily. Totals are from 1 January to 31 December each year.

These figures reflect an increase in platform usage rates as the Army redeployed from operations in Afghanistan (where primarily Cougar variant Protected Patrol Vehicles and Jackal reconnaissance vehicles were used) to training on Challenger 2, Warrior, CVR(T), and Landrover vehicles. Equipment Failure Reports are raised for a wide range of fault types (from minor to major) and also for routine part replacement.

[1] Cougar Variants comprise Mastiff, Ridgback and Wolfhound

Project Starter passed Initial Gate in October 2014 and is currently in the Assessment Phase.

It is for Chief Officers in conjunction with Police and Crime Commissioners to determine the number of armed response officers and vehicles in their areas based on a thorough assessment of threat and risk. As announced in the Police Grant Report for England and Wales Written Ministerial Statement on 17 December 2015, this Government will provide £34 million in 2016-17 to enable a national uplift in armed policing capability and capacity to respond more quickly and effectively to a firearms attack. Decisions over where this money will be distributed are yet to be made, however for reasons of national security we do not publically disclose the detailed allocation of funding for counter terrorism by force area or by capability.

The licence was for chassis for manufacture of vehicles for use in counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations in Sinai. The licence application was carefully assessed against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria and against the commitment made by EU Member States in August 2013 to suspend licensing for Egypt for equipment which might be used for internal repression.

All export licences are issued in strict accordance with the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria.

The Home Office does not hold information on when police officers are authorised to drive police vehicles. This information is held by individual police forces.

The Home Office has issued no guidance to the police on carrying throw ropes in police vehicles.

The Department’s consideration of motor insurance policy concerning vehicles such as these arises from the Vnuk judgement. This case, before the European Court of Justice concerned a man (Mr Vnuk) who was injured when he was knocked off a ladder by a trailer that was attached to a tractor in a barn in Slovenia. The effect of the judgment is that any vehicle that falls within the Motor Insurance Directive’s definition of a vehicle should have a compulsory motor insurance policy. The definition of vehicle in the Directives is very wide. We were disappointed with this judgment.

Officials are in regular dialogue with the European Commission and their EU counterparts about the challenges generated by the Vnuk judgment. This has included dedicated meetings with Commission officials, various exchanges with representatives of other Member States and attending a general meeting of Member States hosted by the Commission in May 2015.

Ambulance services are a devolved matter and are the responsibility of the devolved administrations.

For England, this information is not collected centrally.