HC Deb 26 March 1996 vol 274 cc525-7W
Mr. Ian McCartney

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the cost and number of items of equipment and furniture that(a) have been stolen and (b) are otherwise unaccounted for from his Department and its agencies in each of the past five years, listing by name any such items valued at £5,000 or more, and showing information technology material separately. [19032]

Theft, fraud and arson Number of items Other causes Number of items Items at £5000.00 or more
Amount Details
£ £ £
1991–92
30,234.15 61 55,729.96 26 10,980 4 current meters—lost at sea
10,250.01 Nosette sampler—lost at sea
8,224.80 8 sampling bottles—lost at sea
14,250.00 Guideline probe assembly—lost at sea
13,500.00 Stolen Landrover and trailer
1992–93
90,356.54 98 3,427.71 22 10,000.00 Stolen 4 x 4 diesel pick-up
1993–94
22,885.91 45 22,669.44 8 8,273.89 Vehicle involved in accident
7,492.25 Theft of vehicle
10,315.55 Theft of vehicle
1994–95
7,364.13 12 0
1995–96
8,960.50 4 0 7,700.00 Theft of 3x computers, 2x printers, lx fax machine

Letter from G. K. Bruce to Mr. Ian McCartney, dated 26 March 1996: The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has asked me to reply, in respect of the Pesticides Safety Directorate (PSD), to your question concerning stolen or unaccounted for items. The Directorate was launched as an executive agency on 1 April 1993. Since that time there have been no instances of equipment or furniture that have been stolen or otherwise unaccounted for.

Letter from Johnston McNeill to Mr. Ian McCartney, dated 26 March 1996: As Chief Executive of the Meat Hygiene Service (HMS), your question regarding items stolen or otherwise unaccounted for has been passed to me for reply with regard to this Executive Agency. (19032) As you may know, the MHS was established on 1 April last year. Therefore, we only have data covering the period since then. In that time, we have encountered the theft of two items of computer

Mr. Boswell

The table details the cost and number of items of equipment and furniture which have been(a) stolen or (b) unaccounted for from the Department during the financial years 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95 and the first 11 months of 1995–96.

Unfortunately, without incurring disproportionate cost, it is not possible to split IT equipment from other losses for the first three years, owing to the way in which the manual records were held.

The chief executives of ADAS, the Meat Hygiene Service, the Pesticides Safety Directorate, the Veterinary Laboratories Agency, the Central Science Laboratory and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate will be writing to the hon. Member separately.

equipment valued at a total of £2190. We have no other items unaccounted for in any way.

Letter from T. W. A. Little to Mr. Ian McCartney, dated 26 March 1996: The Minister has asked me to reply to your question on items of equipment and furniture which have been stolen or are otherwise unaccounted for in the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA). The VLA was established on 1 October 1995, from the merger of the existing Central Veterinary Laboratory with the Veterinary Investigation Service, which was part of the State Veterinary Service. The figures are as follows:-

1996 (to date) 1995 1994 1993 1992
Number of items stolen 9 12 6
Cost of items stolen £3,073 £3,000 £1,660

No items of IT equipment have been stolen.

Letter from Professor P. I, Stanley to Mr. McCartney, dated 26 March 1996: The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has asked me to reply to your question about the cost and number of items stolen or unaccounted for in the past five years in respect of his Central Science Laboratory (CSL) Agency, as this is an operational matter for which I am responsible. In terms of non-IT equipment or furniture, items with a total value of £330 were otherwise unaccounted for. In addition a CSL vehicle was stolen, but because of its age and condition its asset value was zero. In terms of Information Technology, approximately £10,000 worth of IT equipment was stolen during a recent burglary. No individual item had a value of £5,000 or more.

Letter from J. M. Rutter to Mr. Ian McCartney, dated 26 March 1996: The Minister has asked me to reply to your question about stolen and unaccounted for items of furniture and equipment from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate as this is an operational matter for which I am responsible. The only item of VMD equipment lost in the last five years has been a Tandon PC valued at approximately £250, which was stolen recently from the Veterinary Investigation Centre, Newcastle. The theft has been reported to the local constabulary.

Letter from Phillip Needham to Mr. Ian McCartney, dated 26 March 1996: The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has asked me to reply to your Parliamentary Question concerning the cost and number of items stolen or unaccounted for in the past five years in ADAS. (19032) ADAS was formed as an Executive Agency of MAFF and the Welsh Office in 1992. Any detail relating to items stolen prior to that date would be available from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The figures are as follows:

1992 1993 1994 1995
IT equipment
Number of items 18 4 12 50
Cost of items £17,000 £3,400 £10,527 £42,300
Other equipment
Number of items 33 6 3 51
Cost of items £13,654 £1,610 £1,250 £80,350
Items over £5,000
Number of items 1
Cost of item £6,955
Description Landrover

There are no figures currently available for 1996.

Third country agreements involving financial compensation
Country Duration Total cost (ecu) Annual cost (ecu)
Angola 3 May 1994 to 2 May 1996 18,500,000 9,250,000
Cape Verde 6 September 1994 to 5 September 1997 1,500,000 500,000
Republic of Comoros 20 July 1994 to 19 June 1997 1,080,000 360,000
Equatorial Guinea 1 July 1994 to 30 June 1997 660,000 220,000