Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has made on helping develop a five-year strategy for the National Retail Crime Steering Group.

I am the co-chair of the National Retail Crime Steering Group with the British Retail Consortium. It is an important group that brings together representatives from government departments, the police and the retail sector to focus on the crime issues that affect retailers. The Steering Group has a work plan that has been developed in consultation with its members. This helps to ensure that the work is focused on the retail sector’s crime priorities, such as tackling violence and abuse against retail staff.