MPs debate metal theft 'epidemic'

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MPs called for action on Tuesday during a Commons debate on metal theft.

Graham Jones, the Labour MP for Hyndburn who secured time for the debate from the Backbench Business Committee, said:

"Industry is being hard hit by daily thefts and the general public are not only horrified at the escalation and cost, but disgusted at the theft of Britain’s heritage; reports of war memorials being desecrated have shocked the nation.

"We have seen lifeboat stations without communications, and last month Llandough hospital in Wales had to cancel 80 operations because of cable theft. Remote rural broadband services across Britain are too frequently knocked out. The Energy Networks Association claims that there has been a 700% increase in theft from the energy networks between 2009 and 2011.

"The Association of Chief Police Officers conservatively puts the cost at £770 million. I believe that a lack of accurate reporting—there is no specific crime code—probably means that the true cost is higher, but Deloitte puts the figure more conservatively at between £260 million and £600 million."

David Wright, Labour MP for Telford, said:

"We have heard that the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 is no longer adequate for the modern day, and we need a licensing regime.

"Metal theft is dangerous. The British Transport police report a significant increase in cable theft, and say that from April 2010 to 31 March 2011 there was a 70% increase in such theft. It is one of the biggest crimes that the railway industry has to deal with. It puts people’s lives at risk, and it costs the economy a fortune."

Home Office minister Lynne Featherstone said:

"Two weeks ago the Home Secretary announced to Parliament the legislative action we will take as part of our package of measures. We will increase the fines for all offences in the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964—the maximum fine will be unlimited—which will strengthen the deterrent and improve industry compliance with the current registration scheme. We will also create a new criminal offence in order to prohibit cash payments for the purchase of scrap metal. That has been welcomed on both sides of the House."

She added:

"Prohibiting cash from an entire sector is a bold step, but cash transactions for scrap metal are often completed without any proof of personal identification or that the individual legitimately owns the goods being sold. This leads to anonymous transactions that create such a low risk for criminal activity that we have seen this epidemic across our country. Requiring transactions to be completed with traceable payments will dramatically improve the ability of the police and local authorities to enforce the existing registration scheme.

"The widespread use of cash, coupled with lax record keeping, also creates easy opportunities for tax avoidance. We will work constructively with the British Metals Recycling Association on how his measure will operate in practice.

Calor Gas Ltd. welcomed Tuesday's debate. It said last year 200,000 gas cylinders were stolen across the UK by scrap metal thieves, at a cost to the liquefied petroleum gas industry of £9 million. Calor Gas Ltd’s cylinders accounted for 50% of these thefts – 100,000 steel gas cylinders with a market value of £4.5 million.

Paul Blacklock, Head of Strategy and Corporate Affairs, said:

"For the last 75 years we have never needed a system to track our gas cylinders, but that has changed. There is a criminal element at play here. This is beyond casual theft.

"It is these cylinders that have fallen prey to the metal-theft crime wave. It is happening in some of the most remote communities in the country."

Calor Gas said even a nominally empty cylinder will contain traces of the highly flammable gas and represents a hazard to anyone involved in removing valves or cutting up the cylinder. Fires, serious injury and avoidable deaths have all been recorded.

Network Rail said there were 995 incidents of cable theft from the railways in 2010/11, causing more than 6,000 hours of delays.

Direct costs associated with cable theft include compensation paid to train and freight companies for delays incurred as well as the costs associated with replacing stolen or damaged cable.

Delays from cable theft can have long term impact on the railway by discouraging freight businesses and passengers.

"The railway receives funding from government and through ticket sales, so costs caused by cable theft are ultimately borne by the taxpayer and the fare-paying passenger," Network Rail said.