Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Josh Fenton-Glynn and Lucy Rigby

Thursday 19th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Rachel Hopkins (Luton South and South Bedfordshire) (Lab)]

10. What steps she is taking to help ensure increased prosecution rates for rural crime.

[The Solicitor General]

Reliable and effective local policing is the foundation for keeping all our constituents safe, whether they live in a city, a town or a rural area. That is why the Government are putting more police officers and PCSOs on the beat. Our plan for change will ensure every neighbourhood has a named contactable police officer in their community to deal with local issues.

[Josh Fenton-Glynn]

I welcome my hon. Friend to her place. Representing a rural constituency, I am aware of the ongoing problem of agricultural vehicle theft. In Calder Valley, vehicle crime counts for one in every 20 crimes committed. The Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023, passed by the hon. Member for Mid Buckinghamshire (Greg Smith) as a private Member’s Bill, was restricted to the re-sale of specified equipment. However, 18 months since it received Royal Assent, the statutory instrument needed for it to be enacted has yet to be laid. Will my hon. Friend act where the previous Government did not?

[The Solicitor General]

We are committed to implementing the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act, which aims to prevent the theft and re-sale of high-value equipment, particularly for use in an agricultural setting, as my hon. Friend describes. He will know that the Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention takes this matter very seriously and is working closely with the automotive industry to ensure the most robust responses possible to these crimes. I am also happy to raise the matter with my hon. Friend’s local chief Crown prosecutor.