Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending the offence of assaulting a retail worker to wholesale workers operating in business-to-business premises.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Shop theft continues to increase at an unacceptable level with ever greater numbers of offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers as part of their crime. We will not stand for this. Everybody has a right to feel safe at their place of work.
Through our Crime and Policing Bill, we have therefore introduced a standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores, sending a strong message to offenders and would-be offenders that violence against retail workers will not be tolerated. The Bill is making its way through Parliament and committee stage started on 27 March.
As introduced, the definition of a ‘retail worker’ does not include wholesale workers operating in business-to-business premises, but it does include wholesale workers operating in premises that provide retail sales to the public. Keeping a tight definition provides legal clarity and ensures there is less ambiguity for courts in identifying whether an individual is a retail worker and impacted during their job. Workers whose roles are not included are already covered under other legislation such as the Offences against the Person Act 1861, which also covers more serious violence, such as actual bodily harm (ABH) and grievous bodily harm (GBH).
That said, the purpose of the parliamentary process is to scrutinise the provisions in the Bill and we will, of course, consider carefully any proposed amendments and supporting evidence.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unused animals originally acquired for scientific procedures were euthanized in 2023 due to (a) a surplus to requirement and (b) any other reason.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, Great Britain 2023 was published on the 11 September 2024. The statistics provide full details on the number of licensed procedures carried out, the species of animals and the purposes for which the procedures have been undertaken.
The 2023 Annual Statistics show that 2.68 million scientific procedures involving living animals were carried out in Great Britain in 2023; this is a decrease of 3% on last year and the lowest number since 2001.
In 2017, the Home Office published additional statistics covering the number of non-genetically altered animals that were bred for scientific procedures but were killed or died without being used in procedures; and the number of animals (genetically altered and non-genetically altered) subject to tissue sampling for the purposes of genotyping. That data is available at: Additional statistics on breeding and genotyping of animals for scientific procedures, Great Britain, 2017. The additional statistics are not presently routinely collected. Future publication of this data is under review.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many animals housed in (a) UK laboratories, (b) breeding centres and (c) universities were not used in scientific procedures in 2023.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, Great Britain 2023 was published on the 11 September 2024. The statistics provide full details on the number of licensed procedures carried out, the species of animals and the purposes for which the procedures have been undertaken.
The 2023 Annual Statistics show that 2.68 million scientific procedures involving living animals were carried out in Great Britain in 2023; this is a decrease of 3% on last year and the lowest number since 2001.
In 2017, the Home Office published additional statistics covering the number of non-genetically altered animals that were bred for scientific procedures but were killed or died without being used in procedures; and the number of animals (genetically altered and non-genetically altered) subject to tissue sampling for the purposes of genotyping. That data is available at: Additional statistics on breeding and genotyping of animals for scientific procedures, Great Britain, 2017. The additional statistics are not presently routinely collected. Future publication of this data is under review.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to protect retail staff from (a) intimidation and (b) assault.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Shoplifting has increased at an unacceptable level in recent yeara, with more and more offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers to do this. We will not stand for it.
This Government will introduce a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores. We will also end the effective immunity, introduced by the previous Government, granted to low level shoplifting of goods under £200. These will be introduced in the first session Crime and Policing Bill.
The police made operational commitments in its October 2023 Retail Crime Action Plan, Retail Crime Action Plan (nbcc.police.uk) including a commitment for police across England and Wales to prioritise attendance where violence has been used towards shop staff.
Reporting crime to the police is the first crucial step in ensuring an appropriate police response. The Home Office is providing funding to the National Business Crime Centre to make it easier for retailers to report crime. We are also encouraging closer local partnerships between police and retailers, for example through Business Crime Reduction Partnerships, to help local police respond effectively to crimes reported.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to reduce the wait time to report assaults on retail staff by telephone in Leicestershire.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Shoplifting has increased at an unacceptable level in recent yeara, with more and more offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers to do this. We will not stand for it.
This Government will introduce a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores. We will also end the effective immunity, introduced by the previous Government, granted to low level shoplifting of goods under £200. These will be introduced in the first session Crime and Policing Bill.
The police made operational commitments in its October 2023 Retail Crime Action Plan, Retail Crime Action Plan (nbcc.police.uk) including a commitment for police across England and Wales to prioritise attendance where violence has been used towards shop staff.
Reporting crime to the police is the first crucial step in ensuring an appropriate police response. The Home Office is providing funding to the National Business Crime Centre to make it easier for retailers to report crime. We are also encouraging closer local partnerships between police and retailers, for example through Business Crime Reduction Partnerships, to help local police respond effectively to crimes reported.