Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle retail crime in rural communities.

Shop theft continues to increase at an unacceptable level, up 29% on year up to June 2024, with more and more offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers to do this. We won’t stand for this.

As part of the Safer Streets Mission, we 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 granted to shop theft of goods under £200, and provide over £7 million over the next three financial years to support the police tackling retail crime.

These measures will apply to shop workers and retails in urban and rural communities, and this Government is clear that no matter where you live, when you report a crime, it should be properly investigated with victims having faith justice will be delivered, and criminals facing meaningful consequences