§ Mr. Bercow
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to her answer of 5 February 2002,Official Report, column 901W, on littering, how many people in the UK were prosecuted in each of the last five years; and in how many cases they were convicted. 
§ Mr. Meacher
In 1996 there were 626 people prosecuted and 468 of those were convicted for littering offences, in 1997 there were 505 prosecutions with 352 convictions, in 1998 there were 494 prosecutions with 377 convictions and in 1999 there were 501 prosecutions with 390 convictions. There are no central data held prior to 1996.