Scrap Metal Theft

Debate between Anna Soubry and Graham Allen

Monday 18th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Allen]

The hon. Gentleman anticipates my argument. I agree with him.

A new licensing system must include the power to refuse an application if there are concerns about the integrity of the dealer. This is something that the present registration system does not allow, although it would make it less likely that stolen metal was sold on to scrap metal dealers. A set of conditions should be met before a licence is issued, and there should be the powers of suspension and revocation. The current inability of the police to enter the premises of unlicensed operators without a warrant in pursuit of those operating outside the regime must also be put right.

A new licence fee should be implemented to fund the regulation of the licence, and the Environment Agency should be allowed to use the funds raised from permits to fund enforcement action against illegal and non-compliant sites. Under the current regime, operators must register with local authorities, whereas the environmental permits are issued by the Environment Agency. At present there is no requirement for the Environment Agency and local authorities to consult each other, so hundreds of sites carry a scrap metal dealer’s registration but no environmental permit, and vice versa. This must end.

[Anna Soubry (Broxtowe) (Con)]

The hon. Gentleman and I, being Nottinghamshire MPs, are familiar, like other hon. Members, with this terrible problem, which has blighted churches in my constituency. Does he agree that there is a good argument to be had about who should give out and operate the licences? It could be argued that it is the police, and not necessarily local authorities, who should license scrap metal dealers.

[Mr Allen]

That is a very interesting point to be teased out in a Bill Committee, if the hon. Member for Croydon South is successful in getting his Bill into Committee. It deserves a great deal of attention. Any new licensing scheme should also be flexible locally, so that councils or whoever can adapt the system to the differing circumstances found in different areas.

The Government must focus much more on the role of forensic markings in preventing this crime. Alan Given, until recently the chief executive of Nottinghamshire Police Authority, says that maintaining

“a minimum standard in relation to longevity, retrieval and analysis”

of forensic markings is an extremely useful intervention that the Government can make. Reliable forensic marking can make metal worthless to steal, make trading stolen metal a high-risk activity, and play a key role in ensuring the prosecution of criminals.

The commercial and domestic use of forensic markings is common. Companies such as Network Rail, National Grid, BT Openreach and many others mark their metals with hidden ink. I take this opportunity to congratulate SmartWater on working with the War Memorials Trust to donate a free system to protect every war memorial in the UK by the end of the year.

Last year the city council in Nottingham and our crime and drug partnership started to mark metal street furniture. They have also done outstanding work backing a property marking scheme advertised on the back of buses in the city to ensure that criminals know that metal is being marked. This has even included putting up posters in custody suites.

If the trade does not seize this opportunity for sensible reform, I and no doubt many colleagues will seek to require scrap metal dealers to scan all materials arriving at their premises, but for now any legislation should allow local authorities or others to use the techniques that they consider necessary.

The final key area, as has been mentioned, is the ban on cash payments, which was introduced in Operation Tornado It must go further and include itinerant collectors and vehicle salvagers. That is extremely important.

Parliament is so often seen as irrelevant to ordinary people’s needs and slow to act. Here, on the back of concern that has been given voice by constituency MPs of all parties and an opportunity that has been given by the fluke of the private Member’s Bill ballot and the generosity of the hon. Member for Croydon South, we have a chance to move swiftly. I very much hope that the Minister will grab that chance.