On 30 May 2025, the Home Office formally responded to TCAP’s Freedom of Information request submitted on 30 April 2025, under reference FOI2025/05636.
Request Summary
The request asked for the following:
- The number of police vehicles procured between March 2020 and March 2021.
- Of those, how many were fitted with Cummins Ltd engines?
- Any correspondence between the Home Office and Cummins Ltd (or its representatives) relating to police fleet supply during the COVID-19 pandemic or regarding key worker designation.
Home Office Response
The Public Safety Group of the Home Office stated that it does not hold the information requested. The reason provided is that vehicle procurement and fleet decisions are not managed centrally by the Home Office. Instead, each of the 43 police forces in England and Wales is responsible for independently assessing and procuring equipment, including vehicles.
The department advised that individual police forces would be the appropriate bodies to contact for this type of information.
The full response is available on request and recorded under FOI2025/05636.
Next Steps
TCAP will, over the coming week, submit targeted FOI requests to each of the 43 police forces in England and Wales. The aim is to determine:
- The extent of Cummins Ltd engine usage in active police fleets during the COVID-19 period.
- The nature of any communications between Cummins and individual forces during that time, particularly around key worker designations.
Further updates will be published as responses are received.
Lee Thompson
Founder – The Cummins Accountability Project