Disclosure and Barring Service (Appointments)
Baroness Featherstone Excerpts(12 years, 3 months ago)
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The Minister for Equalities (Lynne Featherstone)
The new Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) will bring together the work of the Criminal Records Bureau and the Independent Safeguarding Authority, and represents an important element of the Government’s reforms to the disclosure and barring arrangements.
I am pleased to announce that the following senior appointments have been made to the DBS:
Chairman of the Disclosure and Barring Service: Bill Griffiths, formerly chair of the Forensic Science Service
Chief Executive: Adrienne Kelbie, currently deputy chief executive and corporate director of Business Support for Hull city council.
These appointments will take effect later this year.
Equality Act 2010 (Banning Age Discrimination in Services and Public Functions)
Baroness Featherstone Excerpts(12 years, 3 months ago)
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The Minister for Equalities (Lynne Featherstone)
Equality of opportunity is a core coalition objective. It is fundamental to building a strong economy and a strong society. We want to make sure that everyone can realise their potential—part of this means ensuring people are treated fairly regardless of their age.
So I am pleased to inform the House that the Government are today announcing their intention to ban age discrimination in the provision of public and private services. We intend to do this, subject to parliamentary approval, from 1 October 2012.
We are taking a proportionate approach. The new law will only prohibit harmful or unjustifiable treatment that results in genuinely unfair discrimination and harassment because of, or related to, age. It will not affect the many entirely justifiable instances of different treatment that do not cause any harm. To ensure this, we consulted widely on specific exemptions to the ban. The Government’s response to that consultation is published today, and a draft order will be laid before both Houses shortly.
I have placed copies of the Government response in the Libraries of both Houses and it has been published on the Home Office website at: www.homeoffice.gov.uk.
Oral Answers to Questions
Baroness Featherstone Excerpts(12 years, 4 months ago)
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Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) (Lab)
15. How many children and their families are being held in immigration detention.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Lynne Featherstone)
During 2011, 99 children entered immigration removal centres, short-term holding facilities and pre-departure accommodation, which compares with 436 in 2010 and with 1,119 in 2009. The numbers held at any one time in 2011 were very low; snapshot figures from the end of each quarter ranged from zero to one child.
Jeremy Corbyn
When the coalition Government made their unequivocal statement in May 2010 that they would end all
“detention of children for immigration purposes”,
many of us welcomed that, because we had always thought such detention to be wrong. Will the Minister therefore explain what response she has given to the Refugee Council’s “Not a minor offence” report, which describes the detention of unaccompanied children arriving in this country from Afghanistan, Iran or Iraq? These children arrive deeply disturbed and very frightened, and they find that their first interaction with this country is to be put in detention and kept there. Will she please guarantee that no more children will be kept in detention, and that instead cases will be referred to the relevant local authority immediately where children arrive in this country?
Lynne Featherstone
The hon. Gentleman raises the issue of the report by the Refugee Council that was published this morning. Obviously, we will consider the Refugee Council’s recommendations as we continue to improve at all levels, but I point out to the hon. Gentleman that under the Labour Government it was 28 days before Ministers got involved, whereas under this Government it is 72 hours.
Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)
What happens to families who are claiming asylum in this country having passed through other safe countries before getting here? Are we returning them to the last safe country that they left or do we offer them the opportunity to stay in this country indefinitely?
Lynne Featherstone
We return where we can, obviously, but the important point is that we have a process for returning and we follow it.
Lisa Nandy (Wigan) (Lab)
Many of the children whom the Minister describes are age-disputed young people. Will she confirm that the appalling and shambolic X-ray pilot—described as “appalling” by the four UK Children’s Commissioners and subsequently abandoned—will not resume and that she will work with children’s professionals and medical experts to find an effective solution to the very difficult problem of determining the age of children?
Lynne Featherstone
The hon. Lady might or might not know that, in light of the view expressed by the National Research Ethics Service that that trial is research and therefore requires NRES approval, we have paused it while we work with our partners to seek formal ethical approval.
Mark Lancaster (Milton Keynes North) (Con)
17. What recent assessment she has made of any link between sales of the drug khat and serious organised crime; and if she will make a statement.
Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con)
21. What recent steps she has taken to eradicate human trafficking.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Lynne Featherstone)
In 2011, the Government published their human trafficking strategy, opted into the EU directive and improved the support arrangements for adult trafficking victims. Since then we have been working across Government and with stakeholders further to strengthen and improve our approach to tackling human trafficking.
Andrew Selous
Many people believe that trafficking is about foreigners being trafficked into the UK, but do the Government accept the need for great vigilance on the question of British citizens being trafficked within the United Kingdom and outside it, which has recently been shown to be happening?
Lynne Featherstone
Of course, the terrible incident in Bedfordshire highlighted the issue of internal trafficking and the Government have taken action. We recently passed clauses in the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 to make internal labour trafficking a criminal offence, which will come into force in April 2013. We also made it an offence for a UK national to traffic a person for sexual or other exploitation, regardless of where in the world the trafficking occurs or is intended to occur.
Animals in Scientific Procedures
Baroness Featherstone Excerpts(12 years, 4 months ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Lynne Featherstone)
I am pleased to inform the House that I have today placed in the Library and published the Government’s response to the public consultation on the options for transposition of European Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes. Directive 2010/63/EU will replace Directive 86/609/EEC on which current United Kingdom legislation—the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986—is based. In common with other member states, the UK must transpose the provisions of the new directive into legislation by 10 November 2012 and implement them from 1 January 2013.
The Government welcome the new directive which strengthens the protection of animals used in scientific procedures and promotes the development, validation, acceptance and implementation of methods and strategies that replace, reduce and refine the scientific use of animals (the 3Rs). It also sets down detailed rules to ensure harmonisation and the proper functioning of the internal market. These are intended to rectify variations in the implementation of Directive 86/609/EEC which have tended to create barriers to trade in products and substances developed using animals in research and testing.
The public consultation was launched on 13 June 2011 and closed on 5 September 2011. The consultation paper invited views on the options for transposing the new directive and on the accompanying impact assessment. Responses were received from over 13,000 individuals and 98 organisations.
The Government’s response summarises the responses to all of the questions included in the public consultation and explains how we propose to transpose each of the articles and annexes of the new directive. The response also includes an estimate of the impact of our preferred approach to transposition of each of the provisions of the new directive.
In line with Government policy on the implementation of European legislation, we propose to “copy out” most of the provisions of the directive. There are, however, a number of areas in which we intend to retain current stricter United Kingdom standards. For example, we propose to retain special protection for dogs, cats and horses as well as non-human primates and to retain all current United Kingdom care and accommodation standards that are stricter than those set out in annex III to the directive. All are justified on animal welfare grounds or to maintain public confidence that animals used in experiments and testing will continue to receive a very high-level of protection.
We also propose to retain the current requirement that individuals carrying out regulated procedures on animals must hold a personal licence authorising them to do so. We will, however, explore the opportunities to simplify the detail of personal licence authorities and to remove current requirements which increase regulation without adding to the effectiveness of the licensing process. We will ensure any changes avoid detrimental impacts on levels of compliance or animal welfare and protection.
The directive introduces inspection for all member states but with a minimum frequency much lower than we currently practise in the United Kingdom. We propose to retain our current risk-based approach to inspection and are committed to maintaining a strong and properly resourced inspectorate and a full programme of inspections.
We estimate that these proposals will have no significant impact on costs or competitiveness.
The Government’s response can be found at: http://www. homeoffice.gov.uk/science-research/animal-research/
Riot (Damages) Act
Baroness Featherstone Excerpts(12 years, 4 months ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Lynne Featherstone)
I thank the right hon. Member for Tottenham (Mr Lammy) for raising this subject. I am mindful that this is the first debate secured specifically on riot damage compensation, and I apologise on behalf of the Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice, who is unable to attend.
The right hon. Gentleman’s constituency, like my own, was one of the areas severely affected by the riots last August, and I sympathise with individuals and businesses in his area and others across the country that experienced losses. He has been extremely proactive in aiding his constituents in the aftermath of the riots and helping those who were adversely affected by the events last August.
The Government have come under considerable criticism, both during the recovery period and this evening, for the length of time that it has taken victims to receive compensation through the Riot (Damages) Act and for the perceived bureaucracy around processing claims, which has been singled out as the problem. Typically, this has been portrayed as a problem caused by the Home Office, with Opposition MPs for the most part helping to promulgate the myth. Most notably, as the right hon. Gentleman mentioned, it was referenced by the Leader of the Opposition in Prime Minister’s questions on 21 March.
It may help to inform the debate if I present a true and current picture of the progress that has been made, but first, in case I run short of time, I want to respond to several of the points raised by the right hon. Gentleman. He asked why the Government did not take up the insurance industry’s offer to process the Act’s claims. As the right hon. Gentleman knows, under the Act, liability for claims rests with police authorities, and passing on the handling of decision making on all claims would have required a change to primary legislation. We did not want to wait for primary legislation, and the simpler option, which took less time to put in place, was to draft in expertise from leading loss adjusters to the Home Office bureau. That did help in resolving and processing the claims.
The right hon. Gentleman asked why loss adjusters insist on continually asking for outstanding documents or evidence. I had a case myself where a constituent came to me about documents that were required for a building that had been burnt down. Documentation is important to ensure that losses are substantiated as far as possible. It is not a new issue for the insurance industry and for loss adjusters who have been employed by the police authorities and the Home Office bureau, and I can confirm that reasonable loss of documentation is taken into account in the reports produced by the loss adjusters. They are aware of the issue. That is not to say that they have not asked for documentation on occasion, but if the reply is that it has been lost or burnt, they make a reasonable adjustment.
On the question of the Prime Minister placing in the Library a document on the processes involved in processing claims, we will check whether it is in there; if it is not, it will be by the end of the week. I would be grateful if the right hon. Gentleman wrote to me with some details on the philanthropic questions that he raised, because this is not a matter that has come to my attention to date. I will be happy to look into that.
Mr Speaker
Order. I am afraid that we cannot have interventions from the Front Bench in a half-hour Adjournment debate.
Lynne Featherstone
There are two types of victim, the uninsured and the insured, although, as I will explain in more detail shortly, some overlap has been created by insurance companies repudiating claims, which can lead to further uninsured claims subsequently being submitted.
For the uninsured cases—those people who never had insurance—most of the claims originally made went to the Home Office bureau, which the Government set up in the wake of the riots in order to facilitate the process for individuals who were struggling to come to terms with the damage caused to their property and loss of possessions. The Home Office bureau received 1,261 cases. As of last week it had 68 cases left—about 5% of the original total. Of those cases, 39 have been classed as inactive. Despite repeated attempts to contact claimants or their representatives, no response has been received for a substantial period. The other 29 cases are largely waiting for documents to be submitted, which the bureau chases up regularly.
The bureau has rejected 837 cases and sent 356 to the police authorities to make decisions on payments. Typically, the reason the claims were rejected is that they were not within the scope of the Act, which covers business interruption losses, personal injury, and vehicle damage, as mentioned by the hon. Member for Nottingham South (Lilian Greenwood). In some cases, the claims were rejected because individuals already had insurance cover.
Given that the number of cases with the bureau is now relatively small, the Policing Minister has agreed that the bureau will shortly cease operations. The small number of remaining cases will be passed to local police authorities, where a more co-ordinated approach will be taken to get them resolved in the local area. The police authorities originally received 480 claims, including the 356 sent to them by the Home Office bureau. I am pleased to announce that only 26 claims are left—that is 26 too many, but nevertheless that is down to 5%. Police authorities have rejected 159 claims and settled 295 cases.
That is not the complete picture of uninsured claims, because a number of cases were subsequently received, predominantly in the Metropolitan Police Service, where insurance companies had repudiated claims or refused to pay out because their assessed value of the claim was below the policy excess; a claim under the Act was then made directly to police authorities. A specific example of that is the case, raised by the Leader for the Opposition at Prime Minister’s questions, in which an uninsured claim was not received in the police authority until December 2011. A further delay then occurred as a result of documents not being sent to the police authority until late March, after which the claim was settled in a matter of days. Unfortunately, that case is not untypical, so the delay is not always on the part of the Home Office, the Home Office bureau or the police authority.
To return to the “new” uninsured claims, I can also report that good progress has been made in resolving those cases. The Metropolitan Police Service received 642 such cases and has 133 left. Around half those cases have been delayed due to documentation that has been requested by police authorities from claimants or their representatives not being submitted. Claims made to other police authorities are negligible. The category in which the greatest amount of payments remains outstanding relates to insurance companies. The Act provides for insurance companies to seek recompense from police authorities for the compensation they pay out to policyholders.
Lynne Featherstone
I am running out of time and really want to get some of these figures on the record for the right hon. Gentleman, so the hon. Gentleman must forgive me.
Police authorities have received 3,883 insured cases, of which 1,063 remain. The police authorities have rejected 1,967 of these cases and 853, worth a total of £4.3 million, have been settled. A number of the outstanding claims, although not many, are of the higher value because they are the more complex claims. Claims for recompense from insurers do not affect the vast majority of individuals and businesses who held insurance at the time of the riots. The most up-to-date information from the Association of British Insurers indicates that more than 95% of individuals have had their claims settled in full or received an interim payment, and 92% of small and medium-sized businesses have either received an interim payment or had their claims settled in full.
Specific reference has been made in the media—I mention this because the right hon. Gentleman did—to the fact that 700 cases in London remain outstanding. Although that headline figure is correct, it is important to provide some context. Of the 707 cases outstanding in the Metropolitan Police Service, 571 are claims from insurance companies for reimbursement of payments that they have made or will make to their customers, not claims outstanding to an individual or company. Those cases do not affect the majority of individuals and businesses who made the original insurance claim, as they will already have received interim or full settlement. Of those 136 claims—707 minus 571—only three of the original claims remain; the others are new.
The Government are committed to reviewing the Riot (Damages) Act. The right hon. Gentleman is right that it is an old Act and we need to ensure that the legislation is fair and reflects a modern policing world. We are considering holding a public consultation, which will provide an opportunity for all interested parties to give their views on the current system and potential options for handling riot claims in future. He makes a powerful case and the Government want to settle all claims and ensure, as many have said, that victims are compensated as soon as humanly possible.
Equality Act 2010 (Harmonisation Power)
Baroness Featherstone Excerpts(12 years, 4 months ago)
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The Minister for Equalities (Lynne Featherstone)
I am required under subsection (11) of section 203 of the Equality Act 2010 to report to Parliament on the exercise of a harmonisation power provided for in that section.
This reporting requirement is triggered every two years, beginning now, with the second anniversary of Royal Assent to the Act.
I am accordingly today informing the House that no use has been made of the power in section 203.
Equal Civil Marriage Consultation
Baroness Featherstone Excerpts(12 years, 6 months ago)
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The Minister for Equalities (Lynne Featherstone)
The Government are today launching a consultation on how to introduce equal civil marriage.
During a listening exercise conducted in 2010 on allowing civil partnerships to take place on religious premises, we heard representations from many who sought equal access to marriage for same-sex couples. It was argued by some that having two separate provisions for same-sex and opposite-sex couples perpetuates misconceptions and discrimination.
We recognise that the personal commitment made by same-sex couples when they enter into a civil partnership is no different to the commitment made by opposite-sex couples when they enter into a marriage. We do not think that the ban on same-sex couples getting married should continue.
That is why we are, today, launching this consultation to seek the public’s views on how we can remove the ban on same-sex couples getting a civil marriage. We are clear that no changes will be made to how religious organisations define and solemnise religious marriages and we are clear that we will retain civil partnerships for same-sex couples.
Copies of the consultation document are being placed in the House Library.
Hate Crime (Government Action Plan)
Baroness Featherstone Excerpts(12 years, 6 months ago)
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The Minister for Equalities (Lynne Featherstone)
Today, we are publishing “Challenge it, Report it, Stop it”—the Government’s plan for tackling hate crime.
Hate crime—crime which is motivated by hostility to the victim’s personal characteristics, such as disability, gender-identity, race, religion or sexual orientation—can have devastating consequences for victims, their families and communities. It is hugely under-reported, as many victims are reluctant to come forward for fear of attracting further abuse or because they do not believe that the authorities will take them seriously.
This is an issue the Government take very seriously, as demonstrated by our coalition commitment to improve the recording of such crimes.
We have a responsibility to reduce the incidence of hate crime and to protect victims. However, getting the response to hate crime right depends on deep local knowledge of victims, offenders and communities, so the lead must come from professionals at the front line, working with the voluntary sector and communities to respond to local issues and priorities.
The Government have a vital role to play in setting the direction at national level, and supporting those locally led efforts, with a clear, consistent message on the importance of tackling hate crime and protecting victims and communities. That role includes making more and better national-level data available, so that we have a better understanding of where hate crime is happening and why; encouraging new ideas and highlighting examples of good practice, so that local professionals can see what has worked in other areas; and, where necessary, giving victims of hate crime more protection under the law.
“Challenge it, Report it, Stop it” is our blueprint for the remainder of this Parliament. It brings together activity by a wide range of Government Departments—working with local agencies and voluntary sector organisations, as well as with our independent advisory group on hate crime—to meet three key objectives:
To prevent hate crime—by challenging the attitudes that underpin it, and intervening early to prevent it escalating;
To increase reporting and access to support—by building victim confidence and supporting local partnerships; and
To improve the operational response to hate crimes—by better identifying and managing cases, and dealing effectively with offenders.
Hate crime is also a global issue and our responsibility to share our experience, ideas and good practice should also extend to partners overseas. We will therefore continue to push for action on hate crime at international level, through a range of organisations, including the United Nations, the European Union and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
A copy of the action plan will be placed in the Library of the House
International Women’s Day
Baroness Featherstone Excerpts(12 years, 6 months ago)
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The Minister for Equalities (Lynne Featherstone)
May I say first that the Home Secretary is very sorry not to be here to celebrate international women’s day? She is just back from Jordan and has to attend the JHA—justice and home affairs—meeting.
I thank my hon. Friends and hon. Members for all their contributions; I hope they will forgive me if I do not enumerate them one by one. International women’s day is a day for celebration, and I want to set out and celebrate what the Government are doing. We have heard many good contributions today and, sadly, some negative ones from Labour Members. Indeed, they have chosen to be very negative about the impacts of decisions that this Government have been forced to take to reduce the record deficit left to us by them. As my hon. Friend the Member for Hastings and Rye (Amber Rudd) pointed out, if we do not take action, it will be our daughters who have to pay for it.
Let me say that we are lifting 1.1 million of the lowest paid workers, more than half of whom are women, out of income tax altogether—and with more to come. We are increasing overall NHS spending by £11.5 billion in real terms. As part of that, we are recruiting over 4,000 new health visitors and doubling the number of places on the family nurse partnership programme by 2015. We are protecting key support for older women—with winter fuel payments, free eye tests, free prescriptions, free bus passes and free TV licences for the over-75s—and permanently increasing cold weather payments to £25.
Furthermore, we have re-linked earnings with pensions —something called for for years, which did not happen under the Labour Government. We are providing an extra £300 million for child care support under universal credit. Labour Members mentioned child care, yet against this terrible economic background we have maintained the entitlement to 15 hours a week of free education and care for three and four-year-olds. We are also extending the entitlement to 15 hours a week of free education and care for 260,000 of the most disadvantaged two-year-olds. We are funding online and telephone support services for families, and are providing over £28 million for specialist local, domestic and sexual violence support services. [Interruption.] As the hon. Member for Slough (Fiona Mactaggart) said—[Hon. Members: “Give way.”] I will not give way; I have very little time. I am sorry, but everyone else has had their say and I am going to have mine.
We are spending £900,000 on helplines and providing £10.5 million over the next three years for rape support centres. Today, my right hon. and learned. Friend the Justice Secretary announced the locations of five new centres. As the shadow Minister mentioned, we are also creating two new specific criminal offences of stalking. We are tabling amendments to the Protection of Freedoms Bill for Lords Third Reading so that those new offences can be enacted as soon as possible.
Yvette Cooper (Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford) (Lab)
Will the hon. Lady confirm that there will be two separate offences, and that the first offence will have a maximum sentence of only six months, and that in order for the second offence to carry a sentence of more than six months the police will be required to prove that someone is in fear of violence—which was objected to by the all-party parliamentary group, which said that that approach would not work?
Lynne Featherstone
This measure will be effective. It was welcomed by women and women’s groups across the board at No. 10 Downing street this morning. There will be two offences. One will carry a sentence of up to six months, and the other a maximum sentence of five years. This is good news—and it is a great shame that the Opposition do not have the grace to welcome it.
We are also working on gangs and girls, teenage abuse and forced marriage. We are putting women at the heart of the economy, too, through the Work programme, the new universal credit and the new national careers service, in order to give women the help and support they need.
The hon. Member for Feltham and Heston (Seema Malhotra) is no longer in her place, but I take issue with her statement that there has been an increase in women’s unemployment. There are 50,000 more women in work now than a year ago.
In November, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced that the Government will provide resources for 5,000 volunteer mentors.
Lynne Featherstone
No, I will not.
Those mentors will help new business start-ups, and there will be help for women in rural areas, too, where we have provided a £2 million fund over the next three years to support women setting up and expanding their businesses. We are establishing a women’s business council as well.
We are going further. We are extending the right to request flexible working to all, establishing a new system of shared parental leave, and promoting equal pay and good practice in the workplace. With the help of Lord Davies, we are increasing the number of women on company boards.
Because disadvantage and the stereotyping of women do not start and end in the workplace, we are also tackling how women are portrayed in the media. The Government’s body confidence campaign—for which I know there is support on both sides of the House—is gaining momentum and is now receiving global recognition following an event I hosted on the issue at last week’s UN commission on the status of women. We are also tackling the commercialisation and sexualisation of children, working with a wide range of stakeholders to bring the use of sexualised images in line with what parents find acceptable. I am sure Members on both sides of the House are as sick as I am of women being portrayed either as sexual or servile.
The coalition Government recognise that investing in girls and women in the poorest countries is transformational both for economic growth and in meeting all the millennium development goals.
Mrs Eleanor Laing (Epping Forest) (Con)
Will my hon. Friend give way on that point?
Lynne Featherstone
I thank my hon. Friend for reminding me to pay tribute to UN Women. Our country is one of the biggest sponsors and supporters of that organisation.
The Secretary of State for International Development has ensured that girls and women are at the heart of the UK’s international development programme. We can all be very proud of that, and I am extremely proud of what I can do through my role as champion for tackling violence against women overseas, whether that involves going to Bonn to raise issues to do with Afghanistan, or raising issues in respect of the Arab uprising. There is still much to do in tackling forced marriage, female genital mutilation and so-called honour crimes, but I know that Members on both sides of the House support taking action against those practices.
We are taking some very difficult decisions, but they are necessary decisions that are required to bring our country back from the brink. We are making sure that the cuts are shared fairly and that the most vulnerable are protected, and we are going further to ensure that women have a voice and are treated with fairness and respect in the workplace and in society so that they can be a vital part of our future economic growth, and we are working internationally with allies across the world so that women can be part of the world’s future.
Metal Theft
Baroness Featherstone Excerpts(12 years, 7 months ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Lynne Featherstone)
I congratulate the Backbench Business Committee on securing a debate on an issue that rightly concerns all of us. I congratulate the hon. Members for Hyndburn (Graham Jones), for Dudley South (Chris Kelly) and for Worcester (Mr Walker) on tabling the motion.
Metal theft is a crime that affects us all and strikes at the very heart of our communities. As we have heard from Members on both sides of the House, it is a dreadful crime. They have painted a thoroughly depressing picture of the mentality of those who would desecrate churches and commit theft—whole brass bands gone and a building having to be demolished because of the amount of metal taken from it. There were really horrible stories from every constituency.
The consequences are there for all to see, not least the loss and disruption to telecommunications, as every hon. Member mentioned—I am not going to go over everything that was said, as more than 22 contributions were made—as well as to electricity and transport networks, and the damage to our religious and heritage sites. There were horrific stories right across the country.
We are not prepared to stand by and see our infrastructure and heritage destroyed, which is why the Government are taking the problem of metal theft so seriously and taking action. We are clear that the only sustainable, long-term solution is legislation, but we are equally clear that legislation alone is not enough. That is why we propose a coherent package of measures to tackle metal theft. We want to cut out the easy, anonymous reward for metal thieves by banning cash payments for scrap metal and making it much harder for illegitimate dealers to trade in stolen metals by introducing a more rigorous licensing scheme, which many Members across the House have called for. We want to deter thieves and illegal metal dealers by introducing more focused and sustained enforcement and tougher penalties.
To those who say that the Government are not going far enough or fast enough, I say that we are going as fast as we possibly can. Metal theft is a horrific crime, and the Government are stepping forward to take action. Two weeks ago the Home Secretary announced to Parliament the legislative action we will take as part of our package of measures. We will increase the fines for all offences in the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964—the maximum fine will be unlimited—which will strengthen the deterrent and improve industry compliance with the current registration scheme. We will also create a new criminal offence in order to prohibit cash payments for the purchase of scrap metal. That has been welcomed on both sides of the House.
Prohibiting cash from an entire sector is a bold step, but cash transactions for scrap metal are often completed without any proof of personal identification or that the individual legitimately owns the goods being sold. This leads to anonymous transactions that create such a low risk for criminal activity that we have seen this epidemic across our country. Requiring transactions to be completed with traceable payments will dramatically improve the ability of the police and local authorities to enforce the existing registration scheme. The widespread use of cash, coupled with lax record keeping, also creates easy opportunities for tax avoidance. We will work constructively with the British Metals Recycling Association on how his measure will operate in practice.
The legislative changes to increase fines and ban cash payments will be made through Government amendments to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill. This is the quickest and most practical way that we can get these measures into law and crack down on metal theft. Members across the House have made it perfectly clear tonight that the House wants us to go further, but let me stress that we need realistic, achievable and effective legislative measures.
Lynne Featherstone
I will not, as I am really short of time.
That is why we took the difficult decision not to support the private Member’s Bill proposed by the hon. Member for Hyndburn. It was not because we do not agree with the principles, but because unfortunately the Bill would not have received the necessary parliamentary time to achieve Royal Assent in this Session.
Lynne Featherstone
I am sorry, but I really want to make some particular points. If I have a minute at the end I will give way. Members have been asking all evening for me to answer the points raised, and I intend to do so.
Strong legislation is absolutely vital, but it must be backed up by strong enforcement action from the police and other law enforcement agencies. We are working with the Association of Chief Police Officers, local police forces and the British Transport police to strengthen law enforcement activity. Recognising the damage that metal theft causes to our economy, the Government have committed £5 million of additional funding to establish a dedicated national metal theft task force. The taskforce will complement and expand existing enforcement activity not only by the police, but by a range of law enforcement agencies.
The message we are sending out is clear: metal thieves will have nowhere to hide. We have recently seen some significant sentences given to metal thieves, which I hope will continue. I welcome the recent announcement by Keir Starmer, the Director of Public Prosecutions, in which he instructed prosecutors to use every tool at their disposal to take a firm stand to convict metal thieves. I make it clear that we are in no way targeting the legitimate metal recycling industry, which does important work that is good for our economy and good for our environment.
Many Members on both sides of the House asked about a number of measures, and the Government believe that the measures that we have already announced will make a big difference, but we are open to new ideas and are already considering how we can further strengthen our approach to metal theft, including the proposals outlined in the motion.
We are considering, for example, how the existing registration scheme can be strengthened, with a robust licensing scheme for scrap metal dealers to replace the current registration scheme, and we agree that the existing scheme under the Scrap Metal Dealers Act is outdated and in need of improvement. The Home Office is already seeking to make such changes as soon as parliamentary time allows.
On greater police powers, which Members on both sides have asked for, we are keen to provide the police with sufficient powers, including entry and closure powers covering the scrap metal industry, to tackle metal theft offenders, and we are seeking clarity on whether we can include amendments to police powers of entry as part of wider measures in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill.
We want to regularise the position under the 1964 Act, whereby the police have the power to enter yards that are registered under the Act, because, as my hon. Friend the Member for Wyre Forest (Mark Garnier) said, their inability to go into unregistered yards is a real anomaly. In the meantime, the work of the dedicated metal theft task force, along with unlimited fines and the end of cash transactions, will tackle the problem until we can bring all those powers into being.
Any new scheme must support legal operators and promote the green economy, but it must also have the power to tackle scrap metal dealers who wilfully help the stolen metal trade, so we will consider further measures, listen to the outcome of the debate and see whether there is more we can practically do to stop metal theft. I shall now give way to the hon. Member for Hyndburn, but I hope that Members appreciate that they did ask for an answer to these questions, and I have been trying to give them one.
Graham Jones
I am grateful to the Minister for giving way, and I have just a simple and straightforward question. Will Government Front Benchers support the motion tonight?
Lynne Featherstone
Government Front Benchers will not oppose the motion tonight, and I am sure that hon. Members on both sides will support it.
We are strengthening the law, cracking down on rogue scrap dealers and targeting the criminals who supply them. That is the right way to tackle this devastating crime. That is what this Government are doing, and this Government are taking action. Nothing happened during the previous 13 years.