§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what percentage of his Department's budget has been spent on measures relating to crime prevention, per project, in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement; [13200]
(2) if he will make a statement on the proportion of his Department's budget which is spent on crime prevention measures. [13201]
§ Mr. MacleanHome Office expenditure specifically allocated to crime prevention in 1996–97 is £22.5 million. That figure is separate from, and additional to, public expenditure of £7 billion on the police service, an increase of more than 100 per cent. since 1978–79. The prevention of crime is one of the key functions of the police service.
It is not possible to identify the level of public expenditure on the police service or other programmes within the Home Office budget which is devoted to crime prevention.
As regards Home Office support for crime prevention projects, it is estimated that, since 1988, over 3,800 crime prevention measures have been initiated under the safer cities programme. There have been 365 successful bids in the first two rounds of closed circuit television challenge, in 1994–95 and 1996–97.
Crime prevention projects have been funded under a number of other Government programmes which, since 1994, have been subsumed into the single regeneration budget.