To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many neighbourhood watch schemes are operating in Leicestershire; how many were operating in 1988; and if he will make a statement.

I understand from the Leicestershire police that at the end of March 1990 there were 1,136 neighbourhood watch schemes in Leicestershire, covering approximately 70,000 households. This compares to 990 schemes at the end of 1988, an increase of 146 schemes over the last 15 months.