Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to lay commencement regulations for Sections 45-47 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026.

We are committed to introducing, as soon as possible, new legislation to create a standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker and to remove the £200 threshold for shop theft, ensuring that all offences are treated seriously and that retail staff are better protected.

Commencement of individual provisions will be brought forward through regulations at the appropriate time, and the Government will set out further details in due course.