Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle car theft in Broxbourne constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government is determined to drive down vehicle crime and we are working with the automotive industry and police to ensure our response is as strong as it can be. I met the NPCC Vehicle Crime lead, ACC Jenny Sims, recently and discussed this matter.
We work closely with policing and industry, via the recently formed National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership and the National Vehicle Crime Working Group. Through the working group a network of vehicle crime specialists has been established, involving every police force in England and Wales, to ensure forces can share information about emerging trends in vehicle crime and better tackle regional issues.
We are also providing £250,000 funding this financial year to help support enforcement at ports to prevent stolen vehicles and vehicle parts being shipped abroad, including additional staff and specialist equipment.
PRC data shows there was a total of 375,048 vehicle related thefts in year ending September 2024. 188,517 of these offences were theft from a vehicle and 127,874 were theft of a motor vehicle. In the latest year, the CSEW estimates that vehicle related theft has remained relatively stable with a 1% increase against the previous year. The Home Office does not collect data at the parliamentary constituency level.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to prevent the export of stolen vehicles out of the United Kingdom.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government is determined to drive down vehicle crime and we are working with the automotive industry and police to ensure our response is as strong as it can be. I met the NPCC Vehicle Crime lead, ACC Jenny Sims, in November and discussed this matter.
We are providing £250,000 funding this financial year to help support enforcement at ports to prevent stolen vehicles and vehicle parts being shipped abroad, including additional staff and specialist equipment.
There are also intelligence teams that support work to tackle vehicle crime, including Opal, the police national intelligence unit for serious acquisitive crime, and the National Vehicle Intelligence Service (NaVCIS), a policing unit funded by industry, including finance and leasing companies, insurers and hauliers, to provide dedicated specialist intelligence and enforcement.
We are continuing to work closely with the police-led National Vehicle Crime Working Group; through this group a network of vehicle crime specialists has been established, involving every police force in England and Wales, to ensure forces can share information about emerging trends in vehicle crime and better tackle regional issues.
In autumn 2024, driven by the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vehicle crime, the National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership began work, bringing together the police, Home Office and manufacturers.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people in Northern Ireland who (a) have their vehicles damaged by stolen cars where the driver is not apprehended and (b) do not have comprehensive insurance are aware of their eligibility to claim compensation through the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB); when the MIB took responsibility for compensating victims in these cases; and what steps he has taken to inform the public of this change.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) is an independent organisation within the motor industry and separate from the UK Government. The Northern Ireland Office has no role in decisions relating to the investigation and payment of claims, which are the responsibility of the MIB.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the number of vehicles stolen in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire in each of the last three years.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of notifiable offences, including motor vehicle theft and shoplifting offences, recorded by the police in England and Wales, at the Police Force Area level and the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) Area level. This information is published on a quarterly basis, and can be accessed here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables
The Home Office does not collect information at the Parliamentary Constituency level.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many thefts of motor vehicles from railway station car parks there were in each of the last five years; and how many of those thefts resulted in a criminal prosecution.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
According to British Transport Police (BTP) data, there have been 1,853 thefts of motor vehicles from rail station car parks between January 2020 and up to and including the 2nd December 2024. Of these, 69 resulted in criminal prosecution.
Year | BTP Recorded Number of Theft of Motor Vehicle Offences | Recorded Crime that led to prosecution at court (correct as of 03/12/2024) |
2020 | 215 | 20 |
2021 | 192 | 7 |
2022 | 482 | 25 |
2023 | 483 | 11 |
2024 (up to 02/12/2024 only) | 481 | 6 |
During 2020 and 2021 passenger numbers were reduced due to the Covid-19 pandemic, so train station car parks were also likely less occupied during this time.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many thefts of motor vehicles there were from the railway station car parks at (a) Arundel, (b) Amberley, (c) Barnham, (d) Haslemere, (e) Liphook, (f) Pulborough and (g) Billingshurst in each of the last five years; and how many of these resulted in a criminal prosecution.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
According to British Transport Police (BTP) data there have been 45 thefts of motor vehicle offences at the 7 named stations between January 2020 and up to and including the 2nd December 2024. Of these currently 2 have resulted in criminal prosecution.
Number of thefts
Year |
| |||||
Location | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 (up to 02/12/2024 only) | |
Arundel Railway Station | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Amberley Railway Station | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Barnham Railway Station | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Billingshurst Railway Station | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Haslemere Railway Station | 1 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 3 | |
Liphook Railway Station | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
Pulborough Railway Station | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | |
Number of prosecutions (note possible time lag for more recent thefts)
Year | |||||
Location | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 (up to 02/12/2024 only) |
Arundel Railway Station | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Amberley Railway Station | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Barnham Railway Station | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Billingshurst Railway Station | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Haslemere Railway Station | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Liphook Railway Station | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pulborough Railway Station | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
During 2020 and 2021 passenger numbers were reduced due to the Covid-19 pandemic, so train station car parks were also likely less occupied during this time.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle car thefts in Sutton and Cheam constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government is determined to drive down vehicle crime and we are working with the automotive industry and law enforcement to ensure our response is as strong as it can be.
We continue to work closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vehicle crime, through the National Vehicle Crime Working Group, to take forward a programme of work, focusing on prevention and deterrence of theft of and from vehicles.
This government is committed to bringing forward legislation to ban electronic devices used to steal vehicles, empowering the police and courts to target the criminals using, manufacturing and supplying them.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many thefts of motor vehicle from Network Rail owned car parks there were in each of the last five years; and how many of these resulted in a criminal prosecution.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
According to British Transport Police (BTP) data, there have been 68 thefts of motor vehicles at the 20 Network Rail managed stations between January 2020 and up to and including the 2nd December 2024. Of these, 5 have resulted in criminal prosecution.
Year | BTP Recorded Number of Theft of Motor Vehicle Offences | Recorded Crime that led to prosecution at court (correct as of 03/12/2024) |
2020 | 7 | 1 |
2021 | 7 | 1 |
2022 | 20 | 2 |
2023 | 17 | 0 |
2024 (up to 02/12/2024 only) | 17 | 1 |
During 2020 and 2021 passenger numbers were reduced due to the Covid-19 pandemic, so train station car parks were also likely less occupied during this time.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been convicted of theft offences involving (a) cars and (b) motorcycles in the last 12 months.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of offenders convicted of theft offences, including theft of/from a motor vehicle. This can be obtained in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, which can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2023.
This information will not include broader offences involving cars and motorcycles however, for example where a car was used as a getaway from a general theft offence. That information may be held on court records but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate costs.
Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle car thefts in (a) Stoke-on-Trent South constituency and (b) other constituencies.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government is determined to drive down vehicle crime and we are closely working with the automotive industry and police to ensure our response to vehicle crime is as strong as it can be.
We continue to work with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vehicle crime, through the National Vehicle Crime Working Group, to take forward a programme of work to drive down vehicle crime. We are focusing on prevention and deterrence of theft of and from vehicles; this includes training police officers on the methods used to steal vehicles, encouraging vehicle owners to secure their vehicles, and working with industry to address vulnerabilities in vehicles.
The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of ‘Aggravated vehicle taking’ and ‘Theft or unauthorised taking of motor vehicle’ offences recorded by the police in England and Wales on a quarterly basis. This information is available at the Police Force Area and Community Safety Partnership area level including ‘Stoke-on-Trent Community Safety Partnership Area’. Information at the constituency level is not held centrally.
Data for year ending March 2024 shows there were 714 ‘Aggravated vehicle taking’ and ‘Theft or unauthorised taking of motor vehicle’ offences recorded by Stoke-on-Trent Community Partnership Area, a rise of 1% compared with the previous year. There was a small fall (1%) across England and Wales for the same period.