Use of shops for illegal activities
The petition of residents of the constituency of Southgate and Wood Green,
Declares that there needs to be an increased and coordinated effort to crack down on shops being used for illegal activities.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to provide greater enforcement powers for local authorities to crack down on shops being used for illegal activities, to support the work of trading standards officers and specialist financial investigators, and to enable a framework for greater communication between trading standards officers and the police.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Bambos Charalambous, Official Report, 28 April 2026; Vol. 784, c. 870.]
[P003193]
Observations from the Minister for Security (Dan Jarvis): The Government are fully committed to preventing and tackling the use of shops for illegal activities and protecting our local high streets from such criminality.
At the autumn Budget, the Chancellor announced the creation of a dedicated cross-Government taskforce to tackle money laundering and associated criminality on our high streets, supported by £30 million over the next three years. This cross-departmental taskforce—set up in the Home Office—is working at pace to develop a long-term response to this problem. It is considering the full range of powers and mechanisms needed by local responders to tackle high street illegality to determine where existing capabilities need to be strengthened.
I am pleased to confirm that the Crime and Policing Act 2026 created a regulation-making power for the Home Secretary to extend the duration of closure orders under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. The Government are aware that these are important powers that local authorities and the police rely on to tackle those shops where criminal activity is being conducted. We intend to launch a consultation soon to help inform these new regulations. As mentioned above, the taskforce is also considering the broader range of powers that trading standards and the police require in tackling this problem, and will support the work of the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government’s soon-to-be published high streets strategy.