Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate her Department has made of the number of reported incidents of violence against retail workers employed in home delivery; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of this violence on the well being of those workers.

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.

Everybody has a right to feel safe on the job and this government is committed to taking retail crime seriously.

We will introduce a new specific offence for assaults on shopworkers to protect them from violence and abuse. The scope of the legislation is still under consideration and will be confirmed when legislation is brought forward.