MOD announces new fleet management contract

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced a new £47m contract to manage its fleet, which aims to target savings of £100 million.

The contract has been awarded to Babcock, which manages the so called ‘white fleet’ of cars, vans, trucks and specialist vehicles on behalf of the UK and Northern Europe. The new deal will help deliver a £100m savings target over six years for vehicle hiring and leasing.

Currently the MOD uses hired and leased vehicles to transport personnel and equipment around the country, often to areas which are not readily accessible by public transport. The vehicles are utilised for a number of tasks, ranging from transporting defence personnel and stores to support military operations to training exercises involving mountain rescue and emergency support.

Defence secretary Michael Fallon said: “Defence has the strongest incentive to be efficient. Every pound that we save on vehicle hire will be reinvested into a defence budget that keeps Britain safe. I want to see us meet and exceed the £100m target.”

The new contract will offer a greater use of scheduled transport services and vehicle sharing.

The service is set to start in the UK from September 2016.