James Frith
Main Page: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)Department Debates - View all James Frith's debates with the Ministry of Justice
Theft of Tools of Trade
James Frith Excerpts(3 days, 11 hours ago)
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Amanda Martin
I thank the hon. Member for all his work. Yes, I agree, but we should not prioritise just one thing; all levers need to be pulled. As well as making those instruments, we also need to ensure that we are pushing the element that I am describing. Even when tools are marked they are still stolen, so the Government need to use all possible levers to protect our tradespeople.
Mr James Frith (Bury North) (Lab)
My hon. Friend is a champion for our tradespeople and I commend her work. A constituent of mine had his tools nicked three times. There is the cost of repairing any damage, the cost of replacing the tools, the loss in earnings while he waits and the cost of the insurance premium, as well as the reputational damage. Does my hon. Friend agree that increased sentences would not only act as a deterrent, but give the police a justification for giving tool theft a higher priority in their stretched workload?
Amanda Martin
Absolutely. One of the reasons for pushing my Bill is deterrence. I will come on to the policing element and how we can better record this crime.
I have been working on the issue since December. I thank all hon. Members who attended my brilliant breakfast reception: I have been energised by the levels of cross-party support for the campaign, and I was pleased that hon. Members from many different parties joined me in helping to raise awareness of it. I reassure the trades community that whatever the outcome of my private Member’s Bill, I will continue to campaign on the issue and will bring all those who want to join me, in or outside this House, along on that journey.