Cost, annual mileage and vehicles in the MPS Fleet

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.24.035441

I note you seek access to the following information:

1. How many vehicles do you have across the whole fleet (please provide data for the past 3 years)?
2. Please break down vehicles in Q1 by vehicle type (i.e. make/model)
3. Please break down vehicles in Q1 by fuel type (i.e. petrol/diesel/hybrid/full electric)
4. How much do you spend annually on refuelling costs for vehicles in Q1 (please provide data for the past 3 years)?
5. What is the average annual mileage per vehicle for vehicles in Q1?
6. Do you have (and if yes, how many) electric vehicle chargers at your vehicle fleet base/HQ?

Decision

I have today decided to disclose some of the requested information. Some data has been withheld as it is exempt from disclosure and therefore this response serves as a Refusal Notice under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) by virtue of the following exemptions:

Section 31 – Law Enforcement

Reason for decision

Information relating to the makes and models of any discreet or operationally sensitive vehicles.

Law Enforcement - Section 31(1)(a)(b) - Disclosure of any further information, other than that already provided by way of the attached spreadsheet, would cause operational harm to the MPS and affect our ability to fulfil our core function of law enforcement. The release of such information would reveal tactical operational information which would be to the detriment of providing an efficient policing service and a failure in providing a duty of care to all members of the public.

Further disclosure would hinder the ability of the MPS to police effectively in preventing and detecting crime if the public become aware of the tactics, resources and capabilities available to the MPS. This is particularly so if the public are aware of what type of tactics and resources the MPS is likely to have available and use, as it also indicates what capabilities and resources they do not have and decisions they may take in the prevention and detection of crime and apprehension of offenders.

It is not in the public interest to disclose any further information, other than that already referred to as it would in effect, reveal law enforcement tactics and methodology used to respond to policing matters. Such a disclosure would also have an adverse effect, by assisting those planning to commit acts of crime.

Disclosure of the type of capabilities available to the police at a specific point in time would enable those individuals intent on committing criminal activity to circumvent methods used to prevent crime and apprehend offenders. This in turn hinders the ability of the MPS to carry out its core functions in law enforcement.

Further disclosure of the requested information would also place the public at greater risk of harm, if would-be criminals were provided with such information which is clearly related to policing capabilities.

Whilst there is a public interest in the transparency of policing resources and providing reassurance that the MPS is appropriately and effectively procuring equipment, there is also a strong public interest in knowing that policing activity with regard to the delivery of law enforcement is operationally effective.

Public safety is of paramount importance and any information which would
undermine policing tactics and place individuals at risk, no matter how
generic, is not in the public interest. The effective delivery of operational law enforcement is crucial and of paramount importance to the MPS. Any disclosure regarding covert vehicles would have a negative impact on law enforcement and public safety.

Therefore, it is our opinion that for these reasons the balance test for
disclosure is not made out.

Disclosure

Please find below data for questions 1 – 6.

Q1 - How many vehicles do you have across the whole fleet (please provide data for the past 3 years)?

Year	Number of vehicles
2021	5196
2022	5264
2023	5422

Q2 - Please break down vehicles in Q1 by vehicle type (i.e. make / model)

Number of vehicles
Model	2021	2022	2023
AUSTIN	1	1	1
BMW	606	594	535
CITROEN	3	3	2
DAF	10	10	10
DUMM	2	1	1
Epropulsion	2	2	2
FORD	505	524	512
HONDA	5	3	3
HYUNDAI	14	15	16
IFOR/WILMS	3	3	3
IVECO	14	10	12
John Deer	1	0	0
KAWASAKI	4	3	3
KIA	1	1	2
LAND ROVER	1	1	1
MARINA	2	2	2
MARINER	9	9	9
MERCEDES-BENZ	286	286	279
MINI	90	122	131
MITSUBISHI	67	57	57
Model Details Withheld	6	6	6
MORRIS	1	1	1
NISSAN	76	76	74
NUGENT TRAILERS	1	1	1
PEUGEOT	83	75	81
Polaris	2	3	4
ROVER	2	2	2
SKODA	3	7	10
Ssangyong		2	2
Surron			5
SUZUKI	1
TOYOTA	136	164	285
TRIUMPH	4	4	4
VAUXHALL	292	275	275
VELOCETTE	1	1	1
VOLKSWAGEN	1	4	4
VOLVO	3	2	40
YAMAHA	48	47	46
Discrete	2910	2947	3000

Q3 - Please break down vehicles in Q1 by fuel type (i.e. petrol/diesel/hybrid/full electric)

	Year
Fuel Type	2021	2022	2023
Diesel	2099	1889	1778
Electric	137	137	167
Hybrid Diesel/Electric	21	46	53
Hybrid Unleaded/Electric	591	728	996
Hydrogen	20	20	19
LPG	5	5	5
No Fuel	55	54	56
Unleaded	2268	2384	2347
(blank)		1	1

Q4 - How much do you spend annually on refuelling costs for vehicles in Q1 (please provide data for the past 3 years)?

Year	Cost
2021	£12,402,562
2022	£17,144,833
2023	£15,300,000

2023 is an estimate

Q5 - What is the average annual mileage per vehicle for vehicles in Q1?

ACPO	31	30
AREA CAR	68	53
ARV	46	40
DOG VAN	47	41
GP	20	20
IRV	58	55
MINIBUS	27	25
MUSEUM	3	3
MUSEUM FLEET	14	12
NON MPS	6	4
OTHER	38	35
PROT CARRIER	20	18
PROTECTION	33	34
Q CAR	29	28
ROADS	29	26
SPECIALIST	25	32
STATION VAN	77	77
SURVEILLANCE	37	36
TRNSPT EQUIP	10	9

Q6 - Do you have (and if yes, how many) electric vehicle chargers at your vehicle fleet base/HQ?

We currently have 319 electric vehicle charging points which are located in multiple Met buildings.