Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has been made on the implementation of the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023; and what steps she is taking to support rural businesses in (a) Mid Cheshire constituency, (b) Cheshire and (c) England in deploying (i) advanced Human Form Recognition systems and (ii) AI-enhanced security systems to combat the theft of (A) high-value agricultural machinery and (B) fuel.

The Government is committed to the implementation of the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023, which will introduce measures to make it harder for criminals to steal and re‑sell high‑value machinery and equipment. The Home Office has completed a Call for Evidence to inform delivery and is working closely with industry, policing and other partners to develop the necessary secondary legislation, which will be introduced in Parliament as time allows.

To support rural businesses the Government is strengthening the policing response to acquisitive crime through improved neighbourhood policing, specialist national capability and legislative tools to support enforcement. This includes continuing to fund the National Rural Crime Unit and National Wildlife Crime Unit, which work with forces to tackle organised machinery and fuel theft.

The deployment of specific security technologies is an operational matter for policing and business. Police reforms and wider crime prevention measures are intended to ensure that forces have the capability and flexibility to work with rural communities and businesses to tackle theft, such as agricultural machinery and fuel, that affect rural locations.