§ Mr. Marquandasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of the increase in public expenditure on law and order between 1968–69 and 1973–74 forecast in the White Paper, Public Expenditure 1968–69 to 1973–74, Command Paper No. 4234, is expected to be due to demographic factors and what proportion to other factors.
§ Mr. SharplesThe social and demographic considerations which form much of this expenditure—such as the levels of crime and traffic, the number of prisoners,46W the needs of children in public care, the workload of the courts, and the growth of fire risks and in the incidence of fines—are so inter-related that it is not possible to distinguish how much of the expected increase in expenditure is attributable to each separately.