§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he collates on the annual cost of vandalism, broken down by local authority. [13103]
§ Mr. Denham[holding answer 6 November 2001]: In Home Office statistics, vandalism is categorised as criminal damage. We have estimates of the economic cost of criminal damage in England and Wales. However, we do not currently estimate the annual cost of criminal damage broken down by local authority.
The most recent figure of the cost of criminal damage was published in a report in December 2000. "The economic and social cost of crime" (Home Office Research Study 217). This estimated the total cost of criminal damage in England and Wales in 1999–2000 to be £4.1 billion. This represents 7 per cent. of the total economic cost of crime.