here - United Kingdom Parliament

329WH
Metal Theft
1 DECEMBER 2010
Metal Theft
330WH
I hope that the Government will consider its conclusions
carefully and endorse what it has to say as a way
forward.
4.48 pm
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the
Home Department (James Brokenshire): May I thank
you, Mr Leigh, for ensuring that this debate started
promptly despite all of this afternoon’s Divisions? May
I also congratulate the hon. Member for West Bromwich
East (Mr Watson) on securing this Adjournment debate
about the important subject of preventing and tackling
metal theft, and on the measured and detailed way in
which he has rightly highlighted the issues? I am sure
that the House will appreciate the information that the
hon. Gentleman has advanced. I assure him that I
regard the issue as serious. I take a personal interest in it
because of my own experiences as a constituency MP. I
know the impact that metal thefts can have.
May I also thank the Second Church Estates
Commissioner, my hon. Friend the Member for Banbury
(Tony Baldry), for his speech on churches and the
challenges facing the Church community? I hope that I
will be able to comment on that in the time remaining.
Metal theft is an issue about which I am concerned,
and I give the assurance that the Government take it
seriously. The need to reduce this crime is important,
and I thank hon. Members for raising the issue. Let me
be clear: we recognise the serious consequences of metal
theft. It is not a victimless crime. We have seen the
significant disruption that metal theft causes to critical
national infrastructure throughout the United Kingdom.
That includes power and transport networks, with
the stealing of live copper cable, which has resulted in
death and serious injury for people involved. In addition,
as hon. Members highlighted, a number of historic
buildings, including churches, are being targeted for
their lead roofs and damaged. Many other examples
were given, but the time available means that I must try
to deal with the relevant points that have been highlighted
this afternoon.
I recognise that the constituency of the hon. Member
for West Bromwich East has a specific issue. I was
recently in Sandwell, talking to the community safety
partnership and the police. They underlined to me the
importance that they place on dealing with and responding
to metal theft. I congratulate them on the work that
they are doing in dealing with the problem.
The police, other law enforcement agencies and industry
are making efforts to tackle metal theft, providing a
strong foundation on which to build a future partnership
approach. There are excellent examples of effective
multi-agency partnerships that have come together in
affected areas to tackle their local metal theft problem. I
am keen to ensure that the practical impact of that
work, which shows how much difference can be made
by motivated and committed partnerships that take the
problem seriously, is shared more widely. We need to
build on it. Many scrap metal dealers are doing excellent
work in supporting law enforcement activity and reporting
suspicious behaviour. We need to support their efforts,
while bearing down on those who operate outside the
law.
At national level, the Association of Chief Police
Officers metal theft working group, chaired by Deputy
Chief Constable Paul Crowther, provides leadership to
police forces and a forum in which industry and the
police can share information and good practice, which
is extremely valuable work. I welcome the recent distribution
of the ACPO tactical guidance to police forces. That
provides, in clear detail, examples of effective practice
in tackling metal theft.
The nature of metal theft means that joint working is
just as important at national level as at local level. That
is why the recent work by the telecommunications and
utilities industries, in working on joint enforcement
operations with local police forces, is so important.
I particularly welcome the efforts of industry in designing
out this crime. For example, BT has been working to
improve the protection of metal assets through improved
security at storage sites. There are other examples of
industry partners reviewing and tightening up their
planned disposal of waste metal through the use of
approved contractors and scrap metal dealers.
On the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964, I am grateful
to the hon. Gentleman for bringing to the House’s
attention the issue regarding the effectiveness of the
existing legislation. The Act contains a number of
requirements relating to the regulation of the scrap
metal dealer industry—namely, the requirement for each
dealer to register with their local authority; the fact that
all seller details are to be recorded; and the fact that
metal cannot be accepted for sale from the under-16s.
We have seen excellent examples in Avon and Somerset
and elsewhere of how the existing legislation can be
used.
I note and welcome the British Metals Recycling
Association code of practice, which it has recently
issued to its members and to which the hon. Gentleman
referred. However, although we welcome such attempts
at self-regulation, we are also seeking to join up the
existing regulatory framework better by contributing to
the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
review of waste policies—due to report in the summer
of next year—to see what changes, if any, need to be
made to legislation in this area.
Environmental and waste regulations cover the operation
of the scrap metal dealer industry, as well as the
transportation and storage of waste materials. Those
regulations are mostly enforced by the Environment
Agency. Therefore it is vital that the police and the
Environment Agency continue to work together to ensure
that all the existing legislation is used effectively.
The hon. Gentleman will no doubt appreciate that
the lead on funding for the British Transport police is
the Department for Transport, rather than the Home
Office. I know that Westminster Hall debates are not
the arena in which to make party political points about
the economic situation, but I note what the hon. Gentleman
said and I am sure that colleagues at the Department
for Transport will note it when they refer to the report
of the debate.
As the Minister responsible for crime prevention, I
am determined to develop a joint plan of working with
law enforcement agencies, Departments and industry to
tackle metal theft at every stage, from theft to disposal.
Because joint working is so important, I want the plan
to be jointly owned by the Home Office and the Association
of Chief Police Officers multi-agency metal theft working
group. We also need to consider the intelligence arena.
We are looking at how regional intelligence units can