Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle number plate theft.

Everyone should have confidence in the law and should feel protected. That is why the Home Office works closely with the police, industry, and other government departments to ensure we are collectively doing everything we can to cut crime and prevent it from happening in the first place.

We work closely with the National Police Chiefs Council to find solutions to all types of vehicle theft. We do this via the National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership and the police-led National Vehicle Crime Working Group, which focus on the prevention and deterrence of theft of vehicles.

Chief Constables have operational independence to tackle the crimes that matter most to their communities, and we expect them to take all forms of crime seriously. The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will ensure that every community in England and Wales will have named and contactable officers dealing with local issues.

This will be supported by the delivery of up to an additional 3000 officers into neighbourhood teams by spring next year.