Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department collects data on the (a) frequency and (b) geographical distribution of tool theft in London.

We recognise the negative impact theft has on victims who rely on the tools of their trade to earn a living, including small businesses.

We are continuing to work with the police-led National Business Crime Centre and industry via the Combined Industries Theft Solutions forum to explore ways to tackle and prevent the theft of tools.

The Police Crime Prevention Initiatives (PCPI) is a not-for-profit, police-owned organisation that works on behalf of Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables to deliver crime prevention and reduction initiatives across the UK. It also provides crime prevention advice: Secured by Design - Vans & Tool Theft.

A key part of making acquisitive crime less attractive to criminals is making stolen goods harder to sell on. That is why we are working closely with policing and academic leads to examine what more can be done to tackle the disposal markets for stolen goods and reduce the profit from acquisitive crime.

The Office for National Statistics publishes estimates from the Crime Survey for England and Wales on the proportion of incidents that involved tools being stolen in personal theft offences. These estimates are available in Table 3b of Nature of crime: personal and other theft. They provide estimates of theft of tools against individuals, including those who are self-employed but do not cover crimes against commercial premises. These estimates cover England and Wales, but no regional breakdown is available.