Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013

Lord Cope of Berkeley Excerpts

Thursday 10th May 2018 Grand Committee

[Lord Cope of Berkeley (Con)]

My Lords, first, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Faulkner of Worcester, for launching this debate and for the expertise he displayed, once again, in doing so. My interest in these matters stems from my involvement with the War Memorials Trust. I was a trustee for 20 years and now I have been moved to be the president. As noble Lords will realise, we are concerned with all kinds of vandalism to war memorials. That certainly includes the theft of plaques and other features made of bronze and other materials. By their nature, war memorials are often in public places and therefore vulnerable in the dark hours of the night.

However, I am delighted to tell your Lordships that there has been a considerable decline in the theft of metal from war memorials in the years since the Scrap Metal Dealers Act and other measures in 2013. There had been a spike in 2011, corresponding to the figures that the noble Lord, Lord Faulkner, gave us, when 40 such cases of theft from war memorials were known to the War Memorials Trust. In 2010 and 2012, there were 14 and 16 cases respectively. By contrast, in the whole of 2017 only two cases in the UK were known to the War Memorials Trust. In Nottingham last September, lead was stolen from the roof of the Memorial Gardens colonnade, which is the centre of the remembrance celebrations in that city. In the same month, in the village of Bunbury in Cheshire, two bronze plaques on the church gates, listing the names of the fallen of the village, were stolen. Last week, the National Trust reported that the brass plaques listing the local dead had been prised off the war memorial in Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire and stolen.

These are tragic cases. There is something particularly sickening about stealing from war memorials. Of course, it is very distressing for the communities concerned when it happens. However, the fall in the number of cases is obviously welcome and coincides with the coming into force of the Act and the other measures. I believe that is one reason why there have been fewer cases. Another reason, we believe, is the scheme that the War Memorials Trust has had in place in recent years to protect war memorials by painting them with a special chemical known as SmartWater. I recommend it to anyone who has metal at risk of being stolen from church or house roofs, or wherever it may be. If the metal is stolen and later found in someone’s possession, it can be chemically identified and the police can prove—and have proved, in various cases in court—where the metal came from, even if it has been melted down in the meantime. That fact is well known, particularly to organised thieves—the sort of gangs the noble Lord was talking about. They are often deterred by seeing the little SmartWater sign that is put beside metal that is so protected. It also deters scrap metal merchants from accepting metal that might have been stolen, as they do not want to be prosecuted for handling stolen goods that can be traced through this technique. I am delighted to say that the trust has an arrangement with the SmartWater Foundation whereby any war memorial can be protected in this way free of charge—but that applies only to war memorials, of course. With the exceptions I have mentioned, therefore, the news overall is good on this front.

It has not often been my experience in my political life that I can say quite so clearly that the Act is working as intended. However, in this case it is so, and it should certainly be continued and enforced.