To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions his Department has had with representatives of the statutory undertakers about graffiti on their street furniture or other property; and if he will make a statement. [118086]

We recognise the real problem of graffiti on street furniture, which my horn. Friend has done much to highlight. That is why we consulted on options in this area in our 2002 document on public space, "Living Places". A number of owners of street furniture responded to this consultation.The Government are considering the results of the consultation exercise and will decide what further action to take. Officials from the Home Office and Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) also met with British Telecom recently to discuss the challenges in this area.At report stage of the Anti-Social Behaviour Bill, we also introduced new powers for local authorities to clean graffiti from street furniture.