§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many cases of vandalism and theft have occurred in west midlands schools during the last five years; what has been the total cost to the ratepayers resulting therefrom in each single year during the same period; and what additional resources he is prepared to allocate to local education authorities for the purpose of installing adequate alarm systems in secondary schools.
§ Mr. DunnInformation about the incidence and cost of vandalism and theft in schools is not collected centrally. The Department last year issued a broadsheet entitled "Vandalism in schools and colleges: some possible ways of reducing damage" which recognised that the problems of vandalism are best tackled locally in the light of needs and circumstances. It is for individual local education authorities to meet the cost of any preventive measures they take within the resources available to them.