Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish a regional breakdown of the costs of tool theft.

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

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.

We are also working alongside the police and businesses to tackle these crimes and ensure perpetrators receive just punishment including work to make tradespeople’s vans secure.

Following engagement with the Home Office and National Vehicle Crime Working Group, Thatcham Research agreed to add to their New Vehicle Security Assessment (NVSA), locks and alarms on the back of vans (previously NVSA only covers the cab area of vans) and a motion sensor on the load area of the van.

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