§ 31. Shona McIsaacTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government are taking to ensure the elderly are protected from burglaries. [99708]
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§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe elderly, like all age groups, will benefit from the £250 million Crime Reduction Programme that was launched in July 1998 as an evidence-based approach to reducing crime, and from the Crime Reduction Strategy that we announced last week.
The Crime Reduction Programme includes the Reducing Burglary Initiative, under which more than £50 million will be used to support anti-burglary projects over three years covering some 2 million households in 500 areas with high levels of domestic burglary. Of the 63 strategic development projects already under way under this initiative, seven will specifically benefit the elderly.
In addition, we recently announced an £11 million project to provide security improvements for the homes of pensioners on low incomes in high burglary areas, in conjunction with the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions' New Home Energy Efficiency Scheme, which starts in June. We plan to announce in the Spring how the improved security arrangements will operate.
This scheme, along with the Reducing Burglary Initiative, will be evaluated to help identify what works most cost-effectively in which circumstances. The results will be disseminated to all partnerships to help them tackle their own burglary problems.
Home Office literature on crime prevention already includes detailed advice to help the elderly reduce the risk of burglary, including burglary by fraudulent callers. We are also in the initial stages of developing a national programme to combat distraction burglary (the victims of which are mostly very elderly). This will use widespread publicity and improved intelligence and detection methods and will involve the police, other organisations such as Neighbourhood watch and the public utility companies.