Police vehicle choice and related data (FOI)

​Request

A.

I would like to know why the States of Jersey police choose BMW Estates rather than a cheaper alternative?

B.

What were the decision criteria that lead them to choose these vehicles?

C.

How much did each one cost? (Base cost and then fitting out)

D.

What other makes/models were looked at?

E.

What are the annual servicing costs?

F

How many miles per gallon do they get?

G.

And what CO2 emissions do they produce?

Response

A.

The States of Jersey Police (SoJP) strive to follow the States of Jersey Financial Directions in order to ensure the efficient and effective use of its resources.

B.

The deal offered by BMW was considered to be highly competitive and met the operational needs of the SoJP. The key considerations were: initial cost of vehicles, running and maintenance costs, reliability and resale value.

C.

The BMW Group has requested that their pricing and specification structure is not released for a number of reasons. The costs incurred by the SoJP include the vehicles being modified to an agreed police specification.

D.

Other makes and models were considered in order to meet the requirements of Financial Direction 5.1, Purchase of Goods and Services. Disclosure of this information is considered to be exempt under Article 33 of the FOI Law (see Exemption below).

E.

Annual servicing and maintenance costs vary for each vehicle and usually increase with the age of the vehicle. All Emergency Service vehicles are maintained and serviced in the Joint Emergency Services workshop, Jersey Fleet Management. This ensures consistency of workmanship and price and guarantees that only original manufacturer’s spare parts are used. Each SoJP response vehicle will complete over 80,000 miles in its three year life span. It is planned to keep these new vehicles for five years, saving on renewal costs for two years.

F.

BMW official figures for mileage are: 40.4 - 41.5 mpg

G.

BMW official figures for CO₂ emissions are: 159.0 - 163.0 g/km

Exemption

Article 33 Commercial Interests

Information is qualified exempt information if:

(a) It constitutes a trade secret; or

(b) Its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of a person (including the scheduled public authority holding the information)

BMW UK has requested that detailed information surrounding the price charged for each vehicle remains confidential, to protect their commercial interests.

Public interest test

Whilst it is in the public interest to be sure public money is being spent wisely, the public can be reassured that the measures put in place by the States of Jersey Government, ensure all contract purchases follow the States policy and must achieve the best value for money.

Vehicle manufacturers will generally offer substantial discounts to the emergency services, on the retail price of their vehicles. To reveal the actual cost may prompt customer dissatisfaction to the detriment of the commercial interests of the company.

In this case, it is accepted the harm that could be caused to the company outweighs the benefit of revealing the actual cost per vehicle, considering the government contract safeguards that are in place.