Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what proportion of vehicles rented by his Department are electric vehicles.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

In FY24-25, DESNZ had 149 hires, including 6 electric vehicles. The data for FY25-26 to date is not yet available.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero was formed in February 2023, therefore there is no data for DESNZ prior to that date. Additionally, for FY23-24 the car hire contract used was still under DESNZ’s predecessor department, Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and all bookings were assigned to BEIS cost centres. It is not possible to determine which of these hires related to DESNZ.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on the harmonisation in the upcoming Trade Strategy of animal welfare standards between domestically-produced goods and imported goods.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues.

The Government shares the public’s high regard for the UK’s environmental protections, food standards and animal welfare. We will promote robust standards nationally and internationally and will always consider whether overseas produce has an unfair advantage.

The Government recognises farmers’ concerns about imports produced using methods not permitted in the UK. We have been clear that we will use our Trade Strategy to support economic growth and promote the highest standards of food production.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of vehicles rented by her Department are electric vehicles.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Carbon emission details, including vehicles rented, will be published later this year within in the Sustainability Report section of HM Treasury 2024-25 Annual Report and Accounts. This will be published at the following link.

HMT annual report and accounts - GOV.UK

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of phasing out the use of (a) enriched cages and (b) farrowing crates on English farms.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We remain firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards. The use of cages and other close confinement systems for farmed animals is an issue which we are currently considering very carefully.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will consult on introducing animal welfare standards for farmed fish.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

I refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given to the hon. Member for North Herefordshire, Ellie Chowns, on 6 March 2025, PQ 34489.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of vehicles rented by her Department are electric vehicles.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

For security reasons, specific details in relation to the use of official cars, including the make and model of vehicles, are not released.

Guidance relating to the use of official cars in the Government Car Service is set out in the Civil Service Management Code.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what proportion of vehicles rented by his Department are electric vehicles.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Department has a contract with Enterprise for car hire. In the 2024/25 financial year there were 672 rentals, of which 4 were electric vehicle (EV) rentals (0.61%). All vehicle types were rented for 1672 days in total, of which 7 were EV rental days (0.42%).

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of vehicles rented by her Department are electric vehicles.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

This information is not centrally collected, and could only be obtained for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what proportion of vehicles rented by his Department are electric vehicles.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Department does not hold this information.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of vehicles rented by her Department are electric vehicles.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

In March 2025, out of a total of 1023 vehicles hired, 68 were hybrid electric vehicles, 1 was a purely electric vehicle. A percentage of 6.7% of the vehicles hired were either electric or electric-capable, with only one being fully electric.

DWP is committed to transitioning towards full electrification of the DWP fleet vehicles in line with the Government Greening Commitment 2027. This includes replacing Petrol and Diesel vehicles with Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) where operationally viable. In addition, DWP is committed to ensuring the maximum use of Battery Electrical Vehicles during short term car hire where operationally viable and through seeking to ensure the increasing availability of those vehicles in the new Hire car contract.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of vehicles rented by her Department are electric vehicles.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Under the previous contract, which ended on 31 March 2025, the contract’s Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) did not differentiate between Electric Vehicle or Internal Combustion Engine hires so the Department for Transport does not hold the requested information.

However, the Department for Transport has recently started a new 3 year vehicle hire contract as of 1 April 2025. Within this contract it is mandated that EV provision is available to all hirers and the related data will be available quarterly going into the future.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of vehicles rented by his Department are electric vehicles.

Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

This information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of vehicles rented by his Department are electric vehicles.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Departments are allocated a combination of electric and hybrid vehicles which are owned by the Government Car Service based on operational and security requirements. However, details of the specific vehicles allocated to individual Ministers are not disclosed. Sharing this information, particularly when combined with other publicly available details, could compromise the security of Ministers and their transport arrangements.

For travel by civil servants, the Cabinet Office does not rent a fleet of vehicles. It does have a contract in place for the provision of hire vehicles. These are for short term vehicle hire and used for official travel. In 24/25 (the latest period where information is available), the Cabinet Office had 1,504 individual hires, covering 3,175 days of hire. Of these, 14 vehicles were fully electric, with a hire period of 29 days.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of vehicles rented by her Department are electric vehicles.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Department currently leases 705 vehicles; of which 57 are electric. This equates to 8% of total leased vehicles.

The Ministry of Justice is committed to transitioning towards full electrification of its fleet vehicles in line with the Government Greening Commitment 2027.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of implementing schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 on the (a) number and (b) effectiveness of sustainable drainage systems in new developments.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is strongly committed to requiring standardised Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) in new developments. These should be to designs that cope with changing climatic conditions as well as delivering wider water infrastructure benefits, offer reuse opportunities, reduce run off and help to improve water quality, amenity and biodiversity. It is also important to ensure appropriate adoption and maintenance arrangements are in place.

We believe that these outcomes can be achieved through either improving the current planning led approach using powers now available or commencing Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. A final decision on the way forward will be made in the coming months.

We will review the planning system holistically and consider whether further changes are required to address SuDS when we consult on further planning reform, including national policy related to decision making, in 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of vehicles rented by his Department are electric vehicles.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

As of 19th May 2025, 2,588 of the Ministry of Defence's 11,572 vehicles leased through the Phoenix II contract are fully electric, representing 22.36% of the fleet. This does not include hybrid vehicles as the Department is moving towards 100% zero emission vehicles by 2027 in accordance with the Greening Government Commitment.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of vehicles rented by her Department are electric vehicles.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Department makes use of the Government Car service, which provides vehicles to a number of Government departments. MHCLG does not hold information on the number of electric vehicles utilised.

Negotiating rights for police officers

School minibus safety

Found: Q253 Josh Newbury: This is something that has a lot of interest out there.

Found: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat; Glastonbury and Somerton) Jayne Kirkham (Labour; Truro and Falmouth) Josh Newbury

Found: Q594 Josh Newbury: We would like to return to this discussion around KKR.

Found: Sean Woodcock Gill Furniss David Baines Dr Allison Gardner Dave Robertson Jacob Collier Josh Newbury

Found: Sean Woodcock Gill Furniss David Baines Dr Allison Gardner Dave Robertson Jacob Collier Josh Newbury

Found: Jermy Clive Lewis David Taylor Ellie Chowns Adrian Ramsay John McDonnell Dr Simon Opher Josh Newbury

Found: Jermy Clive Lewis David Taylor Ellie Chowns Adrian Ramsay John McDonnell Dr Simon Opher Josh Newbury

Found: Jermy Clive Lewis David Taylor Ellie Chowns Adrian Ramsay John McDonnell Dr Simon Opher Josh Newbury

Found: Jermy Clive Lewis David Taylor Ellie Chowns Adrian Ramsay John McDonnell Dr Simon Opher Josh Newbury

Found: Jermy Clive Lewis David Taylor Ellie Chowns Adrian Ramsay John McDonnell Dr Simon Opher Josh Newbury

Submit Evidence (by 18 Jun 2025)

Much of the UK economy is still linear, based on the principles of using and disposing of products and the resources used to make them. This wastage leads to widespread environmental pollution and the continual and unsustainable need to extract finite resources.