HC Deb 09 February 2004 vol 417 cc1224-5W
Mrs. Spelman

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what percentage of abandoned cars were set alight in the UK in each of the four years before 2001–02 for which figures are available. [153395]

Mr. Raynsford

In England, the Department for Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) conducted a Municipal Waste Management Survey in 2000–01 which estimated that 224,000 abandoned vehicles, recorded for the first time by the survey, were removed and destroyed by local authorities.

An analysis of national fire statistics shows that in 2000–01 an estimated 15,400 fires occurred in vehicles that had previously been abandoned. This estimate represents 7 per cent. of all abandoned vehicles removed and destroyed, as recorded by the DEFRA survey.

Figures on abandoned vehicles before 2000–01 are not available.