HC Deb 01 March 1991 vol 186 c620W
Mr. Menzies Campbell

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether it is the policy of his Department to mark property with an indelible mark or similar means of identification.

Mr. Forth

My Department is conscious of the need to safeguard government property and has recently investigated measures to prevent theft of information technology and other vulnerable equipment.

Currently, equipment is recorded by serial number when purchased. A periodic equipment census is then performed where records of equipment held are compared with those of equipment purchased. Any irregularities are then taken up with the last recorded holder of the machine.

Schemes currently being considered to supplement this operation include:

  1. 1. Tagging of equipment using aluminium tabs.
  2. 2. Engraving identity details upon equipment.
  3. 3. Indelibly marking equipment.

No firm decisions have yet been taken, but we hope to commence using at least one of these property identification schemes in the near future.