Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of fuel theft affecting rural and agricultural communities; and what steps she is taking to help reduce such theft.

Fuel theft undermines businesses and their workers. Those who dishonestly make off without paying can face prosecution, with the offence of making off without payment carrying a maximum sentence of two years’ imprisonment on conviction on indictment. Police should take firm action where criminality is reported.

We recognise that some fuel theft can involve offenders operating across force boundaries. Through police reform, the Government is strengthening the national and regional response to crime that crosses those boundaries, including through stronger national leadership, consistent standards and improved coordination.

Alongside this, the Government is committed to strong neighbourhood policing through the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, ensuring communities have named, contactable officers focused on tackling local crime and anti-social behaviour.

The Government is also supporting more effective action when drivers leave without paying. DVLA has modernised its processes to make it easier for authorised retailers and recovery agents to access registered keeper details, supporting recovery of unpaid charges.

We do not hold specific figures for fuel theft. Such offences can be recorded under different crime classifications, including making off without payment and, depending on the circumstances, other theft or burglary offences. It is therefore not possible to provide a reliable breakdown of recorded crime specifically relating to fuel theft.