§ Mr. Peter Bruinvelsasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what measures he is taking to promote improvements to home security; and how much money is estimated to be spent during 1987–88 on these purposes.
§ Mr. John Patten[pursuant to his reply, 3 December 1986]: The Department is seeking to promote improvements to home security in a variety of ways. Among the most important are the following:
The estate action team is encouraging local authorities to improve security on rundown council estates as part of a strategy to revitalise them. A significant proportion of estate action's £75 million resources for 1987–88 will be spent on improvements to security, and on measures to reduce crime and vandalism.The Department's priority estates project will be publishing a handbook of estate management shortly, which will include advice on improving security and reducing crime through better management.The Department funds a number of crime prevention projects through the urban programme. Some £2.5 million is likely to be spent this year on projects directly related to home security.It is not possible at this stage to estimate how much we will spend directly on home security measures in 1987–88, 770W but the activities I have outlined illustrate the importance we attach to this subject. In addition to our own direct spending, we shall also be encouraging all those involved in housing, whether local authorities, housebuilders or owner-occupiers, to take security fully into account in the design and management of their houses.