Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions he has had with the (a) Home Secretary and (b) Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the prevention of violence against retail workers.
Answered by Gareth Thomas
Retail crime remains a significant concern, and we are taking steps including measures in the Crime and Policing Bill and in the Safer High Streets missions to tackle this important issue.
We are increasing police spending power by an average 2.3% per year in real terms over the spending review period, supporting us to meet our plan for change commitment of putting 13,000 additional police officers, police community support officers and special constables into neighbourhood policing roles across England and Wales. In the Crime and Policing Bill, we brought in a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores, and we are removing the legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence, sending a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal and will be taken seriously.
The Minister for Policing and Crime Prevention will continue to host the Retail Crime Forum to ensure regular engagement with law enforcement and the retail sector and to discuss what more we can do to tackle retail crime, including abuse.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of retail workers who have experienced violent crime at work in each of the last five years.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Home Office publishes data on the number of incidents of violent crime recorded by the police in England and Wales. The latest data can be found here:
Police recorded crime and outcomes open data tables - GOV.UK
The data includes incidents of robbery of business property, which includes robbery of retail premises as well as other business premises. Other types of violent crime against retail workers will fall under other categories of violent crime, such as assault with injury. It is not currently possible to identify which of these incidents were committed against retail workers during the course of their work.
In the Crime and Policing Bill, we are bringing forward a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.
The offence will be allocated a specific Home Office Crime Recording Rule, which will help provide a more complete picture of the problem, in turn informing future policy decisions and enabling the police to respond accordingly.
The Home Office has also published estimates from the Commercial Victimisation Survey (CVS) on the proportion of retail premises which experienced at least one incident of violent crime. This data can be found here:
Crime against businesses statistics - GOV.UK
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will increase the length of sentences for people who commit violent crime against retail workers.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the courts, and the courts have a range of sentencing powers to deal with each offender effectively and appropriately, including discharges, fines, community sentences, suspended sentences and imprisonment.
The maximum penalty for an offence is set by Parliament and is designed to cover the most serious imaginable behaviours that may fall under that offence. We continue to keep maximum penalties under review to make ensure they reflect the seriousness of the offending behaviour.
Under the previous Government, shop theft increased to an unacceptable level, with more and more offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers. We will not stand for this as everybody has a right to feel safe at their place of work.
That is why, through our Crime and Policing Bill, we are introducing a new offence of assaulting a retail worker. The new offence will carry a maximum prison sentence of six months and/or an unlimited fine, matching the current sentence guidelines for common assault. It will also come with a presumption for a court to apply a Criminal Behaviour Order. This will prohibit the offender from doing anything described in the order, which might include a condition preventing specific acts which cause harassment, alarm or distress, or preventing an offender from visiting specific premises.
The Crime and Policing Bill will also introduce new measures to address the perceived immunity for ‘low value’ shop theft. With this change, there will no longer be a threshold categorising shop theft of goods worth £200 and under as ‘low value’. Instead, all cases of shop theft will be taken seriously irrespective of the value of goods stolen, with a maximum custodial penalty of 7 years. Shop theft of any amount is illegal, and repealing this legislation will ensure everyone understands this.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending the offence of assaulting a retail worker to wholesale workers operating in business-to-business premises.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Shop theft continues to increase at an unacceptable level with ever greater numbers of offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers as part of their crime. We will not stand for this. Everybody has a right to feel safe at their place of work.
Through our Crime and Policing Bill, we have therefore introduced a standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores, sending a strong message to offenders and would-be offenders that violence against retail workers will not be tolerated. The Bill is making its way through Parliament and committee stage started on 27 March.
As introduced, the definition of a ‘retail worker’ does not include wholesale workers operating in business-to-business premises, but it does include wholesale workers operating in premises that provide retail sales to the public. Keeping a tight definition provides legal clarity and ensures there is less ambiguity for courts in identifying whether an individual is a retail worker and impacted during their job. Workers whose roles are not included are already covered under other legislation such as the Offences against the Person Act 1861, which also covers more serious violence, such as actual bodily harm (ABH) and grievous bodily harm (GBH).
That said, the purpose of the parliamentary process is to scrutinise the provisions in the Bill and we will, of course, consider carefully any proposed amendments and supporting evidence.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of including retail home delivery drivers within the definition of assaults on retail workers.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the Hon. Member to my response given to UIN 38705 on 24 March 2025.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to with retailers in Essex to increase (a) the provision of security personnel and (b) local police presence in stores to help deter (i) violence and (ii) abuse against staff.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Shop theft continues to increase at an unacceptable level, with more and more offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers. We will not stand for this.
This Government is committed to effectively tackling retail crime. In the Crime and Policing Bill, introduced to Parliament on 25 February, we brought a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores. We are also repealing legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence, sending a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal and will be taken seriously.
There were 44,048 shoplifting offences recorded by the police in the East of England region in the year ending September 2024, a 19% increase on the previous year (37,166 offences). This was a 41% increase when compared with the year ending March 2010 (31,154 offences).
There were 13,266 shoplifting offences recorded by Essex police in the year ending September 2024, a 20% increase on the previous year (11,101 offences). This was a 44% increase when compared with the year ending March 2010 (9,190 offences).
We will provide £100,000 additional funding next financial year for the National Police Chiefs' Council to give further training to police and retailers on prevention tactics, as well as investing £2 million over the next three years in the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC), which provides a resource for both police and businesses to learn, share and support each other.
I chair the Retail Crime Forum to ensure we understand the needs of all retailers and to promote collaboration between the retail sector, security providers and law enforcement.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support retail workers in reporting incidents of abuse, threats and violence to the police.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Shop theft continues to increase at an unacceptable level, with more and more offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers. We will not stand for this.
This Government is committed to effectively tackling retail crime. In the Crime and Policing Bill, introduced to Parliament on 25 February, we brought a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores. We are also repealing legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence, sending a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal and will be taken seriously.
There were 44,048 shoplifting offences recorded by the police in the East of England region in the year ending September 2024, a 19% increase on the previous year (37,166 offences). This was a 41% increase when compared with the year ending March 2010 (31,154 offences).
There were 13,266 shoplifting offences recorded by Essex police in the year ending September 2024, a 20% increase on the previous year (11,101 offences). This was a 44% increase when compared with the year ending March 2010 (9,190 offences).
We will provide £100,000 additional funding next financial year for the National Police Chiefs' Council to give further training to police and retailers on prevention tactics, as well as investing £2 million over the next three years in the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC), which provides a resource for both police and businesses to learn, share and support each other.
I chair the Retail Crime Forum to ensure we understand the needs of all retailers and to promote collaboration between the retail sector, security providers and law enforcement.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make a comparative assessment of recent trends in the level of retail worker assaults reported in (a) the East of England and (b) other regions of England in the last 12 months.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Shop theft continues to increase at an unacceptable level, with more and more offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers. We will not stand for this.
This Government is committed to effectively tackling retail crime. In the Crime and Policing Bill, introduced to Parliament on 25 February, we brought a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores. We are also repealing legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence, sending a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal and will be taken seriously.
There were 44,048 shoplifting offences recorded by the police in the East of England region in the year ending September 2024, a 19% increase on the previous year (37,166 offences). This was a 41% increase when compared with the year ending March 2010 (31,154 offences).
There were 13,266 shoplifting offences recorded by Essex police in the year ending September 2024, a 20% increase on the previous year (11,101 offences). This was a 44% increase when compared with the year ending March 2010 (9,190 offences).
We will provide £100,000 additional funding next financial year for the National Police Chiefs' Council to give further training to police and retailers on prevention tactics, as well as investing £2 million over the next three years in the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC), which provides a resource for both police and businesses to learn, share and support each other.
I chair the Retail Crime Forum to ensure we understand the needs of all retailers and to promote collaboration between the retail sector, security providers and law enforcement.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support (a) small and (b) independent retailers in implementing measures to protect employees from (i) violence and (ii) abuse.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Through our Crime and Policing Bill, introduced on 25 February, this Government has brought forward a new offence of assaulting a retail worker, to protect hardworking and dedicated shop workers, including small and independent retailers. The offence carries a maximum penalty of six months imprisonment and/or unlimited fine, as well as a presumption on the courts to impose a Criminal Behaviour Order. This will prohibit the offender from doing anything described in the order, which might include a condition preventing specific acts which cause harassment, alarm or distress, or preventing an offender from visiting specific premises.
As set out in the Autumn Budget 2024, we will provide £100,000 of additional funding next financial year for the National Police Chiefs' Council to give further training to police and retailers on prevention tactics. We will also invest £2 million over the next three years in the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC), which provides a resource for both police and businesses to learn, share and support each other to prevent and combat crime. This will build on funding provided this financial year to the Police Crime Prevention Initiatives, for development of training materials for both police and retailers to help combat retail crime and promote partnership working.
We will continue to work closely with the police to consider further training opportunities, including through our Retail Crime Forum, and are delivering on our wider commitment to strengthen neighbourhood policing.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to implement the proposed offence of assaulting a shopworker; and what the anticipated penalties are associated with this offence.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Through our Crime and Policing Bill, introduced on 25 February, this Government has brought forward a new offence of assaulting a retail worker, to protect hardworking and dedicated shop workers, including small and independent retailers. The offence carries a maximum penalty of six months imprisonment and/or unlimited fine, as well as a presumption on the courts to impose a Criminal Behaviour Order. This will prohibit the offender from doing anything described in the order, which might include a condition preventing specific acts which cause harassment, alarm or distress, or preventing an offender from visiting specific premises.
As set out in the Autumn Budget 2024, we will provide £100,000 of additional funding next financial year for the National Police Chiefs' Council to give further training to police and retailers on prevention tactics. We will also invest £2 million over the next three years in the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC), which provides a resource for both police and businesses to learn, share and support each other to prevent and combat crime. This will build on funding provided this financial year to the Police Crime Prevention Initiatives, for development of training materials for both police and retailers to help combat retail crime and promote partnership working.
We will continue to work closely with the police to consider further training opportunities, including through our Retail Crime Forum, and are delivering on our wider commitment to strengthen neighbourhood policing.