Question
To ask His Majesty's Government which company holds the current contract for the supply of ministerial cars to the Ministry of Defence and how long they have held the contract.
Answer
Further to the Answer of 27 October 2026 to Question HL4032, the Ministry of Defence does not have a specific contract for the provision of ministerial cars. Ministerial travel is generally supported by vehicles provided from Defence resources under the Department’s wider Phoenix 3 White Fleet contract, managed by Babcock. Phoenix 3 commenced on 1 March 2026 and provides White Fleet vehicles to meet requirements across Defence. Vehicles used to support Ministers and Service Chiefs form part of these wider arrangements and do not constitute a separate or exclusively ministerial fleet. The contract therefore does not specify a fixed number of vehicles for ministerial use. Contracts are awarded against Defence requirements and in accordance with applicable procurement obligations, including the need to secure value for money for the taxpayer, rather than a specific country of manufacture.
Verdict: AMBER (68/100)
The reply clearly answers the question of which company is involved: it states that the Ministry of Defence has no separate ministerial car contract and that ministerial vehicles come under the Phoenix 3 White Fleet contract, managed by Babcock. It gives a start date of 1 March 2026 for that contract, but it never explicitly says how long Babcock has held the arrangement, so the duration point is only partly answered and the reader would need to infer it.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Which company holds the current contract for the supply of ministerial cars to the Ministry of Defence? | Addressed | Direct | The reply states that MoD has no dedicated ministerial car contract, then names the relevant arrangement: ministerial vehicles come from the Phoenix 3 White Fleet contract managed by Babcock. This gives a concrete company answer to 'which company holds the contract', with the important caveat that no separate ministerial contract exists. |
| How long the current contract-holder has held the contract for the supply of ministerial cars to the Ministry of Defence. | Partially Addressed | Direct | The reply gives a concrete start date for Phoenix 3 (1 March 2026), from which the holder's tenure could be inferred, but it never explicitly states how long Babcock has held the arrangement or ties that start date to Babcock's tenure. Because the reply also denies a ministerial-specific contract, the duration answer is only implicit. |