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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (James Brokenshire)
May I thank you, Mr Leigh, for ensuring that this debate started promptly despite all of this afternoon’s Divisions? May I also congratulate the hon. Member for West Bromwich East (Mr Watson) on securing this Adjournment debate about the important subject of preventing and tackling metal theft, and on the measured and detailed way in which he has rightly highlighted the issues? I am sure that the House will appreciate the information that the hon. Gentleman has advanced. I assure him that I regard the issue as serious. I take a personal interest in it because of my own experiences as a constituency MP. I know the impact that metal thefts can have.
May I also thank the Second Church Estates Commissioner, my hon. Friend the Member for Banbury (Tony Baldry), for his speech on churches and the challenges facing the Church community? I hope that I will be able to comment on that in the time remaining.
Metal theft is an issue about which I am concerned, and I give the assurance that the Government take it seriously. The need to reduce this crime is important, and I thank hon. Members for raising the issue. Let me be clear: we recognise the serious consequences of metal theft. It is not a victimless crime. We have seen the significant disruption that metal theft causes to critical national infrastructure throughout the United Kingdom. That includes power and transport networks, with the stealing of live copper cable, which has resulted in death and serious injury for people involved.
In addition, as hon. Members highlighted, a number of historic buildings, including churches, are being targeted for their lead roofs and damaged. Many other examples were given, but the time available means that I must try to deal with the relevant points that have been highlighted this afternoon.
I recognise that the constituency of the hon. Member for West Bromwich East has a specific issue. I was recently in Sandwell, talking to the community safety partnership and the police. They underlined to me the importance that they place on dealing with and responding to metal theft. I congratulate them on the work that they are doing in dealing with the problem.
The police, other law enforcement agencies and industry are making efforts to tackle metal theft, providing a strong foundation on which to build a future partnership approach. There are excellent examples of effective multi-agency partnerships that have come together in affected areas to tackle their local metal theft problem. I am keen to ensure that the practical impact of that work, which shows how much difference can be made by motivated and committed partnerships that take the problem seriously, is shared more widely. We need to build on it. Many scrap metal dealers are doing excellent work in supporting law enforcement activity and reporting suspicious behaviour. We need to support their efforts, while bearing down on those who operate outside the law.
At national level, the Association of Chief Police Officers metal theft working group, chaired by Deputy Chief Constable Paul Crowther, provides leadership to police forces and a forum in which industry and the police can share information and good practice, which is extremely valuable work. I welcome the recent distribution of the ACPO tactical guidance to police forces. That provides, in clear detail, examples of effective practice in tackling metal theft.
The nature of metal theft means that joint working is just as important at national level as at local level. That is why the recent work by the telecommunications and utilities industries, in working on joint enforcement operations with local police forces, is so important.
I particularly welcome the efforts of industry in designing out this crime. For example, BT has been working to improve the protection of metal assets through improved security at storage sites. There are other examples of industry partners reviewing and tightening up their planned disposal of waste metal through the use of approved contractors and scrap metal dealers.
On the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964, I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for bringing to the House’s attention the issue regarding the effectiveness of the existing legislation. The Act contains a number of requirements relating to the regulation of the scrap metal dealer industry—namely, the requirement for each dealer to register with their local authority; the fact that all seller details are to be recorded; and the fact that metal cannot be accepted for sale from the under-16s. We have seen excellent examples in Avon and Somerset and elsewhere of how the existing legislation can be used.
I note and welcome the British Metals Recycling Association code of practice, which it has recently issued to its members and to which the hon. Gentleman referred. However, although we welcome such attempts at self-regulation, we are also seeking to join up the existing regulatory framework better by contributing to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs review of waste policies—due to report in the summer of next year—to see what changes, if any, need to be made to legislation in this area.
Environmental and waste regulations cover the operation of the scrap metal dealer industry, as well as the transportation and storage of waste materials. Those regulations are mostly enforced by the Environment Agency. Therefore, it is vital that the police and the Environment Agency continue to work together to ensure that all the existing legislation is used effectively.
The hon. Gentleman will no doubt appreciate that the lead on funding for the British Transport police is the Department for Transport, rather than the Home Office. I know that Westminster Hall debates are not the arena in which to make party political points about the economic situation, but I note what the hon. Gentleman said and I am sure that colleagues at the Department for Transport will note it when they refer to the report of the debate.
As the Minister responsible for crime prevention, I am determined to develop a joint plan of working with law enforcement agencies, Departments and industry to tackle metal theft at every stage, from theft to disposal. Because joint working is so important, I want the plan to be jointly owned by the Home Office and the Association of Chief Police Officers multi-agency metal theft working group. We also need to consider the intelligence arena. We are looking at how regional intelligence units can share intelligence effectively on the more serious organised thefts of metal. That is an important subject that needs further examination.
On the cashless model, I share the concern that criminals are able to turn up at scrap-metal yards and walk away with unlimited sums of cash in exchange for metal. We will examine that in developing our work plan in this arena, including establishing a cashless model. As part of a review of the industry standards, it requires further examination.
I believe that the Church Buildings Council is producing a report on metal theft, and I would welcome sight of the report once it is complete. I hope that we will be able to incorporate its recommendations, when appropriate, in our forthcoming work plan.
I apologise that my comments have been so brief, but I reiterate the importance that I place on this matter. We are committed to preventing and tackling metal theft. I am certain that we have a real opportunity to tackle this crime by working together in partnership with law enforcement agencies and the industry. By working together and having a joint working plan, I am sure that we will be able to tackle all aspects of metal theft and provide the catalyst for a concerted effort by all agencies to reduce this crime.