Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013

Lord Chartres Excerpts

Thursday 10th May 2018 Grand Committee

[Lord Chartres (CB)]

My Lords, I am glad to support the noble Lord, Lord Faulkner, and the noble Baroness, Lady Browning, as I did in a previous incarnation as chairman of the church buildings division, first and foremost to celebrate the passage of an Act which has made a difference—which is hugely encouraging.

I remember during the debates on the Bill lead and metal theft being described as second only to terrorism as a major threat to the infrastructure of the country. So we were very clear about the size and significance of the crime when the Act was passed, and it has been illustrated powerfully, but perhaps a sense of quite how significant and serious it is has abated partly because of the success of the legislation.

We noticed in the church buildings division an initial reduction in the number of the crimes, but, as Robert Fell, the chief executive officer of the organisation, which has been mentioned by other noble Lords, has said—this is a telling and simple phrase: “The number of thefts has been reduced, but they have got much bigger”. He has called, as have noble Lords today, for the reinstatement of the metal theft task force. The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Chester has already indicated the need to establish more clearly, which such a task force would be able to do, the disposal routes for various kinds of metal—lead smelting, mentioned by the noble Baroness, Lady Browning, would be part of that—to establish how the routes operate, because there is considerable suspicion up and down the country that victims of this crime find themselves buying back the metal and lead which have been stolen.

Coming at this point in the debate is rather like Ruth attempting to glean after a combine harvester, so I shall not delay noble Lords excessively by recapitulating all the points that we have already heard. But I have been asking around, and St Albans—for example, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire—seems to be one of the worst affected areas. There have already been four major incidents this year. I refer to the experience of the parish of Eyeworth, a small parish that was kept going, as the noble and right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Chester says, by a handful of dedicated volunteers who were trying to maintain the community’s inheritance in terms of their parish church. The lead roof was entirely stripped 18 months ago and they decided to replace it with zinc. However, the little lead that remained was very recently stripped off and, as we have already heard, the damage done in removing it was such that the organ was damaged. There was a great deal of additional deterioration of the building and the costs for a very small parish look as if they are going to be considerable.

I modestly add my voice to that of the noble Lord, Lord Faulkner, and other noble Lords. We need to underline the need to enforce this excellent Act, to reinstate the metal theft task force and particularly to investigate and identify rather more clearly the disposal routes for the lead and metal that has been stolen.

I notice that we are also suffering from stone theft in the church. A lot of stone is being taken off—and perhaps this is an appropriate Room in which to meet to consider these matters.