Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has assessed the potential merits of putting trackers in farm equipment when manufactured to prevent theft.

The Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 provides for security requirements with regards to the sale of specified equipment. The Government has consulted extensively on its implementation. A Call for Evidence ran from May to July 2023, seeking views from manufacturers, dealers, retailers, trade associations, tradespeople, forensic-marking companies and law-enforcement practitioners. We have used those responses to inform our approach to secondary legislation. We intend initially to introduce regulations requiring forensic marking and database registration for new All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) and removable GPS units used for agricultural and commercial purposes.