Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on (a) the number of thefts from work vehicles and (b) work vehicle owners' (i) livelihoods and (ii) wellbeing of treating theft from a work vehicle as theft from a commercial property.

Under section 7 of the Theft Act 1968 there is no distinction between theft from a work vehicle and theft from a commercial building. The theft offence would apply regardless of where the theft takes place.

Theft from a commercial building could potentially also amount to burglary if a person enters the building as a trespasser. However, theft from a work vehicle could only amount to burglary if the vehicle was inhabited. The requirement for entrance into a building (including an inhabited vehicle) is a fundamental part of the law on burglary that the Government has no intention to change.

However, the impact of theft on a business can be taken into consideration in the court’s assessment of harm during sentencing.