Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of vehicles in the car fleet for (a) Ministers and (b) senior officials are pure electric cars.

Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government Car Service (GCS) provide a Departmental Pool Car Service to Departments as a shared resource. Ministers have access to this service which is managed by the receiving Department. The GCS currently operates 38 battery electric cars (33% of the GCS fleet). Initial capital costs to procure battery electric cars for the GCS fleet incurred an uplift of at least 18% compared to a similar fit for purpose car.

A comparison of annual running costs is not held at present by GCS. This is due to the fact that the electric battery fleet is charged at multiple locations across numerous Government departments, and that data is not recorded. However, in many cases, electric vehicles continue to benefit from significant savings on the cost of fuel. Charging a medium sized electric car at rates equivalent to the January 2024 electricity price cap equates to around half the cost of filling up an equivalent petrol vehicle. In addition to this, electric vehicles generally cost less to maintain due to fewer moving parts than their petrol or diesel equivalents.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many of the official cars used by Cabinet Members are electric, including those for the Prime Minister.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Prime Minister and many Cabinet members are entitled to protection; this service is provided by the Metropolitan Police. One member has their own arrangement for transport with a private hire company. The Department for Transport does not hold information on the cars they are provided with.

The Government Car Service (GCS) provides a Departmental Pool Car service to Departments as a shared resource. The remaining members that attend Cabinet will have access to cars provided by GCS including battery electric and petrol electric hybrid models.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the the adequacy of the (a) range, (b) security and (c) comfort of electric vehicles procured by the Government Car Service for Government use.

Answered by Jesse Norman

The Government Car Service (GCS) now operates 38 battery electric cars.

(a) The range of these cars is more than adequate for most journeys, whilst other vehicles are available if needed for longer journeys.

(b) The security of GCS vehicles and their passengers is a priority. Various modifications are made to these vehicles prior to entering service.

(c) All vehicles procured by GCS are evaluated for fitness for purpose to enable Ministers to work in reasonable comfort while travelling.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of the central government fleet of cars is electrified.

Answered by Jesse Norman

As of 31 March 2022, 18% of vehicles in the government car fleet are ultra-low emission. In total, there are 24,336 cars in the central government fleet of which 4,315 are ultra-low emission.

The Government will report further updates on its progress to decarbonising its car fleet in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of his Department's fleet of vehicles are electric.

Answered by Jesse Norman

There are 521 electric vehicles in the Department’s vehicle fleet. This represents 41.4% of the Departments fleet of 1257.