§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the extent of the534W problem of graffiti; and how much he estimates was (a) lost by businesses through dealing with the problem of graffiti and (b) spent by local authorities in dealing with graffiti in 2002–03. [138286]
§ Yvette CooperLocal authorities budgeted to spend £456 million on street cleaning and litter in 2002–03. The detailed information requested is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The Local Environmental Quality Survey for England, prepared by Environmental Campaigns (ENCAMS) on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), indicates graffiti is not a major problem over the whole of the country, but those areas where it is a problem suffer particularly badly.