Number of arson attacks in schools is shocking, says Malcolm Moss MP

New figures obtained by the Conservative Party reveal that the police have been called into schools across the country over 1,000 times in the last two years because of arson attacks – the equivalent of almost two incidents a day. There were 23 cases of arson or suspicious fires on school property reported to the Cambridgeshire police authority in 2007 and 2008.

The total cost of arson attacks in schools has been put at over £100 million, taking fully into account the disruption to pupils, teachers and parents, and waste of fire service and police resources.

93 per cent of school arson attacks have been found to have been carried out by young people under the age of 18. Most of these are by pupils, ex-pupils or those with siblings at the school.

Malcolm Moss, MP for North East Cambridgeshire, commented:

“I am shocked at the unacceptably high number of arson attacks in schools across the country, including in Cambridgeshire where 23 attacks were reported in the last two years alone. We cannot let these numbers escalate any further, and urgent action is needed. These figures underline the need to implement the Conservative Party’s proposals to give teachers greater power to deal with violence and to remove disruptive pupils. Head teachers must be able to search for, and ban, any items that could lead to deliberate damage to school property, violent behaviour or disruption. Labour Ministers are against these essential reforms to ensure the safety of both children and staff in schools across the country. Only Conservatives have committed to taking the action that is needed so urgently.”