here - United Kingdom Parliament

327WH
Metal Theft
1 DECEMBER 2010
Metal Theft
328WH
[Mr Watson]
which includes measures that go beyond those prescribed
by the 1964 Act—including requesting proof of identity,
limits on cash payments and guidance on best practice
for deploying CCTV—I have real doubts that those go
far enough. Unscrupulous metal dealers have already
made it clear that they are unwilling to abide by good
practice, and a voluntary code is extremely unlikely to
change the mindsets of those people in the industry. My
preferred option would be to make scrap metal dealers
operate under a cashless system. If thieves cannot make
a quick profit, the incentive to steal in the first place
would be dramatically reduced. I draw the Minister’s
attention to the state of Oregon, which did that in 2009.
All the signs from Oregon suggest that the beefed-up
regulations have caused a drop in the number of people
looking to sell stolen materials. Many police forces are
also seeking powers to close down suspected rogue
dealers on the spot, and they want metal users to
consider embossing their metal to make it less attractive
to steal. I hope that the Minister will seek ways to make
that happen.
It strikes me that there is a need for precious metals,
such as gold and silver, to be brought within the scope
of the 1964 Act. We cannot allow the situation to
continue in which there is no legislation covering the
buying and selling of such metals. The Black Country
chamber of commerce tells me that it would like precious
metal dealers to register their business with the local
authority every three years; it would like to see registered
dealers required to keep a written record at each precious
metal store of all items received, processed and dispatched
from that store; and it would like deeper proof of
identity from those who sell precious metals. I support
the Black Country chamber of commerce in its call, and
I hope that the Minister will take its suggestions seriously.
Based on new figures that I have made public today, I
believe that the Government should arrange for data on
metal theft to be better collected and to be presented in
a clearer format. The failures of local authorities and
police forces to accurately chronicle every incident make
contributions to public policy and finding solutions on
this subject more difficult for Ministers and stakeholders.
It is time for the courts to get tough. The Home Office
should ask the Ministry of Justice to issue specific
guidance on metal theft to magistrates, as the Ministry
of Justice did with home repossessions.
Analysts tell me that they expect a 62% rise in copper
prices over the next few years. Coupled with the
Government’s announced cuts to policing budgets and
the fact that the future budget of the British Transport
police is in doubt, that could see a further rise in metal
thefts. If the UK adopted a cashless approach to scrap
metal sales, I am certain that thieves would be deterred.
There would simply be no quick cash incentive for them
to steal commodity metals and there would be a proper
audit trail. I hope that the Minister will look seriously
at the proposals of the Black Country chamber of
commerce on precious metals. Metal thieves erode UK
resilience. They undermine communities and threaten
businesses. They have to be stopped.
The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Tony Baldry)
rose—
Mr Edward Leigh (in the Chair): Order. This is a short
Adjournment debate. Does the Second Church Estates
Commissioner, the hon. Member for Banbury (Tony
Baldry), have the permission of the Minister and the
hon. Gentleman to speak?
Mr Watson: Yes.
4.45 pm
Tony Baldry: I sought the permission of everyone,
Mr Leigh, including Mr Speaker. The hon. Member for
West Bromwich East (Mr Watson) has done the House
an enormous service and what he has had to say is truly
shocking. I am grateful to him and to the Minister for
allowing me to intervene briefly in this debate. I do so in
my capacity as the Second Church Estates Commissioner.
Lead theft is one of the most serious threats at
present to the Church of England’s 1,600 churches,
many of them grade I listed buildings. Indeed, 45% of
all grade I listed buildings are churches, and other faiths
have similar concerns. Night after night, lead is being
stolen from church roofs, and thieves now use Google
Earth to identify targets, including church roofs.
Since 2007, the main insurer of ecclesiastical churches
has received 8,000 claims for lead theft, at a cost of
about £23 million. That represents only the insurance
claims; the total cost, including damage to churches, is
much greater. In many instances, churches that have
replaced their roofs at considerable expense have been
repeatedly targeted—14 times, in the case of one church.
Of course, if they have had the lead stripped from their
roofs, it is often difficult, if not impossible, to get
re-insured. As the House can imagine, the effect on the
morale of parishioners and communities is devastating.
In spite of that, there have been very few prosecutions.
Congregations feel that the police regard metal theft as
a victimless crime and that they are reluctant to investigate
or take action, even when there is an established pattern
of theft taking place on consecutive nights. I understand
that the Home Office does not even record the theft of
lead as a separate offence. Although some of the thefts
may be opportunistic, there is growing evidence that
organised gangs are involved, and the graph of the
incidence of theft mirrors, with remarkable consistency,
the price of lead on the world metal markets. The
higher the price of lead, the more churches are stripped
of it.
A number of things need to be done. Scrap metal
yards need to be more regularly spot-checked by local
authorities and the police. Local authorities have a
responsibility to inspect the registers of scrap metal
yards. The hon. Gentleman’s suggestion of a cashless
transaction is interesting, and I hope that the Minister
will take it seriously. This is a crime that has to be taken
seriously. I am sure that Home Office Ministers take it
seriously and that they will ensure that it is consistently
taken seriously by police forces and local authorities
throughout the country.
The Church of England’s Church Buildings Council,
chaired by Anne Sloman, has set up a working group to
address the problem urgently. It is taking evidence from
police, scrap metal merchants, the legal profession and
other interested parties. When it reports early next year,