Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many incidents of theft affecting retail newsagents there have been in each of the last five years.

The Home Office’s Commercial Victimisation Survey provides information about the cost of crime, incidents of theft and anti-social behaviour against the wholesale and retail sector as a whole, but it does not contain data
specifically on retail newsagents. As a result it is therefore not possible to provide a national estimate of the cost of theft and other crime to retail newsagents.

We do however recognise the disruption that retail crime causes to businesses across the country and that there is a cost to the businesses affected.

At a national level, the National Retail Crime Steering Group, chaired by the Minister for Crime Prevention, brings together representatives from Government, law enforcement and retail organisations, both large and small. The Steering
Group is intended to address retail crime issues, to make sure that the response is industry-led, and to focus on the priorities important to retailers.

In addition, we are improving the response to anti-social behaviour through introducing new faster and more effective powers under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. The new powers will enable the police
and local councils to act quickly and to provide better protection to victims, communities and businesses, including retail newsagents, from anti-social behaviour.

In addition, individual police forces, local partnerships, businesses and trade associations work closely together locally to address those crimes that are a priority for local communities.