Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish official crime statistics on tool theft, specifying the types of property stolen from vehicles during offences.

The Office for National Statistics publishes estimates from the Crime Survey for England and Wales on the proportion of theft from vehicle incidents that involved tools being taken as part of a broader breakdown of items stolen. These estimates are available in Table 6 of Nature of crime: vehicle-related theft. The estimates relate to the households, and will include thefts from self-employed tradesmen, but do not cover crimes where items were taken from commercial vehicles.

This government is committed to implementing the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 and support its intentions to fend off the theft and re-sale of high-value equipment. Secondary legislation is required and we hope to have this in place later this year.

We are currently considering the views of those who may be affected by the legislation and its regulations, to understand the potential implications and determine scope. We also intend to publish the Government’s response to the Call for Evidence on the scope of the legislation shortly.