(2) what his most recent estimate is of the annual cost to the public purse of fires in schools.
[holding answer 26 February 2010]: The latest confirmed figures we have from the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) for England and Wales cover the period 2000 to 2007, and are shown in the following tables.
Number of fires Total costs (£ million) Percentage arson 2000 1,275 45 63 2001 1,529 67 58 2002 1,332 67 55 2003 1,232 n/a 61 2004 1,229 ~52 56 2005 1,102 n/a 44 2006 1,075 n/a 41 2007 825 n/a 42 n/a = not available
Total Accidental Deliberate 2003 1,232 478 753 2004 1,229 551 677 2005 1,102 615 487 2006 1,075 639 436 2007 825 480 345 Note: Excluding incidents not recorded during periods of industrial action in 2003 Ref: 2008066(2003-2007) .sas 12OCT09 Source: CLG
The costs are rounded to the nearest £1 million and are derived from the CLG's cost of Fire Estimates. They cover property damage and the costs of the fire and rescue services attending the fires. They do not include costs of any fires not attended by the Fire and Rescue Services.