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PRESS RELEASE : New Women Veterans’ Strategy to look at experiences of former female service personnel [March 2023]
The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 6 March 2023.

The Office for Veterans Affair has announced its intention to publish a Women Veterans’ Strategy.
- Women Veterans’ Strategy to be developed by the Office for Veterans’ Affairs (OVA)
- The strategy will look at the specific needs and challenges faced by women veterans, and celebrate their successes
- Areas set to be considered in the upcoming strategy include mental health support, physical welfare and employment
Challenges faced by women who leave the services are to be considered as part of the UK Government’s first Women Veterans’ Strategy, which is due to be launched later this year by the Office for Veterans’ Affairs.

Through the strategy, the Government will tackle areas where women veterans might be missing out on support, as well as any accessibility issues, within the wide variety of services already being delivered for the veteran community.

There are more than 235,000 women in England and Wales who have proudly served in our Armed Forces. However, women veterans have been reported to face issues accessing support services, particularly where those services are inadvertently orientated towards men.

Looking at the particular needs and challenges faced by women veterans compared to their male counterparts, the OVA will identify what further support may be given to women veterans to meet their specific needs. Working with experts in academia, charities and other government departments, this will cover areas such as mental health, physical welfare and employment.

The Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Johnny Mercer said:

Making this country the best place in the world to be a veteran shouldn’t just be something we say, but something we do.

In order to deliver this ambition, it’s vital that we listen to women veterans, celebrate their successes, and deliver the support they need. That’s what the new Women Veterans’ Strategy will do.

The OVA plans to publish the Women Veterans’ Strategy later this year.

In developing the strategy the OVA will outline what support is already being delivered across the UK and what more may need to be done, both by the Government and across wider support services.

To support the strategy, the OVA has commissioned research into the accessibility of services available to women veterans and the experiences of women in interacting with existing support. The research is due to report back this summer, with recommendations being used in the development of the strategy.

The launch of the Women Veteran’s Strategy comes after the OVA and the Ministry of Defence launched a wider review of veterans’ welfare services, which is designed to examine their effectiveness and efficiency, answering the calls of relevant stakeholders.

The OVA is already engaged, through the recently announced Veterans Health Innovation Fund, with a number of projects looking to understand the specific needs of women veterans. This includes Northumbria University’s work to assess the impacts of military service on women veterans, and with the University of Exeter and IonaMind who will develop AI supported interventions to treat depression and anxiety in women veterans.

The strategy will also be an opportunity to celebrate the successes of women veterans and the valuable contributions they make to their communities, and to wider society and the economy.

The work is all part of the Government’s commitment to make the UK the best place in the world to be a veteran.
06/03/2023
PRESS RELEASE : Joint outcome statement – UK-India round seven FTA negotiations [March 2023]

The press release issued by the Department for Business and Trade on 6 March 2023.

Round seven of negotiations for a free trade agreement between the United Kingdom and the Republic of India.

On 10 February 2023, the United Kingdom and the Republic of India concluded the seventh round of talks for an India-UK FTA.

As with previous rounds, this was conducted in a hybrid fashion – a number of Indian officials travelled to London for negotiations and others attended virtually.

Technical discussions were held across 11 policy areas over 43 separate sessions. They included detailed draft treaty text discussions in these policy areas.

The eighth round of negotiations is due to take place later this Spring.

06/03/2023
PRESS RELEASE : Regulator of Social Housing finds Haringey Council in breach of consumer standards [March 2023]

The press release issued by the Regulator of Social Housing on 6 March 2023.

The Regulator of Social Housing concluded that the local authority breached its consumer standards.

In a regulatory notice published today (6 March 2023), the Regulator of Social Housing concluded that Haringey Council breached the Home Standard and, as a result, there was potential for serious detriment to tenants.

Following a self-referral, RSH confirmed that the council breached health and safety requirements. It had failed to complete a significant number of remedial fire safety actions, including 4,000 that were high risk. In addition, it did not have up-to-date electrical safety reports for thousands of homes.

Through its investigation, the regulator also found that over 100 of the council’s homes had serious hazards (known as ‘category one’ hazards) and nearly 5,000 of its homes did not meet the Decent Homes Standard.

Haringey Council is undertaking a full condition survey of its tenants’ homes and has put a programme in place to rectify these issues.

Kate Dodsworth, Director of Consumer Regulation at RSH, said:

Haringey Council put thousands of tenants at potential risk by failing to meet health and safety requirements for fire and electrical safety. Our investigation has also revealed that a significant number of Haringey Council homes do not meet the decent homes standard.

The council needs to act urgently to put things right for tenants, and we are monitoring it closely as it does this.

06/03/2023
PRESS RELEASE : RAF to fly joint missions with German Air Force as UK prepares to lead NATO air policing in Estonia [March 2023]

The press release issued by the Ministry of Defence on 6 March 2023.

The joint missions are the first of their kind, with the aim of full NATO integrated air policing missions in future.

Royal Air Force and German Air Force Typhoon jets will be flying joint air policing missions in Estonia for the first time, as the UK prepares to lead NATO’s mission in Estonia.

These integrated missions will be the first of their kind, with the eventual aim of carrying out full joint and integrated NATO Air Policing missions in the future.

Around 300 RAF personnel from the 140 Expeditionary Air Wing (EAW) will soon be in Estonia, as the RAF prepares to take the lead on the long-established NATO air policing mission from the German Air Force for four months, starting from April.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said:

Our RAF personnel in Estonia are undertaking a vital role, ensuring the security of Europe’s skies and bolstering NATO’s presence in eastern Europe.

Joint operations of this kind, demonstrate the strength and unity of the NATO Alliance and our shared resolve to maintain peace and security across the region.

The EAW will be carrying out the long-established NATO Air Policing mission from Estonia. IX (Bomber) Squadron based at RAF Lossiemouth are operating the RAF Typhoons that have deployed from Scotland.

Wing Commander Scott Maccoll, Commanding Officer of 140 EAW said:

Today marks a great ‘first’ for our two Air Forces. We have been working together for some time and the level of cooperation has now reached a new level. It continues to be an absolute pleasure to work with our German allies on all aspects of our mission – from maintenance and operation of the jets to planning and logistic activities.

I would also like to thank our Estonian hosts; they are vital to what we have achieved here. What better way to demonstrate the strength and unity of the NATO Alliance, than through successful, shared operations such as this?

To operate successfully side by side, personnel from the two air forces have trained together to understand each other’s processes including maintenance and operating procedures. Both air forces fly the Eurofighter Typhoon, but there are national differences this is the first time a joint detachment will fully integrate all aspects of operations. Jets will now fly together on live NATO controlled intercepts.

The air policing mission is part of the UK’s wider NATO commitment in Estonia, alongside the presence of around a thousand British soldiers as part of NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence.

As part of the UK’s deployment to Estonia, established in 2017 under the name Operation Cabrit, the UK leads a multinational, combat-ready battlegroup to protect and reaffirm the security of the alliance’s member states. British units rotate on a continuous basis alongside Danish, French, and host nation Estonian forces.

Lieutenant Colonel Christoph Hachmeister, the German Detachment commander, said:

Working together with our allies from the Royal Air Force in a live mission is what we have been looking forward to since we started this mission. Now we can demonstrate interoperability in these difficult times to protect our Baltic partners and NATO’s eastern flank. The many years of good practice in working together will be the baseline for a successful cooperation.

The German Air Force detachment is from the 71 Tactical Air Wing ‘Richthofen’. Once they hand over the lead of the NATO Air Policing Mission in April, they will remain in Estonia until the end of the month, conducting integrated scrambles before returning to Germany.

06/03/2023
PRESS RELEASE : Abuse of Bounce Back Loans by Rukia Begum and Simon Gorgin [March 2023]

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 6 March 2023.

Takeaway owner from Oldham and company director from Kings Langley in Hertfordshire falsely claimed Bounce Back Loans totalling around £69,000 before dissolving their companies.

Rukia Begum, 46, from Oldham, and Simon Grant Gorgin, 63, from Kings Langley, have been disqualified for a total of 22 years after each separately claimed tens of thousands of pounds in covid support loans to which their companies were not entitled.

Begum was the sole director of New Polash Oldham Ltd, which traded as a takeaway from its incorporation in September 2018 until the company was dissolved in October 2020.

In May 2020, Begum applied for a £35,000 Bounce Back Loan for New Polash, stating that the takeaway’s turnover for 2019 was £154,000.

Bounce Back Loans were a government scheme to support businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic, in which companies could apply for loans of up to 25% of their 2019 turnover, to a maximum of £50,000.

Under the rules of the scheme, companies had to have been trading by 1 March 2020, and be actively trading at the time of the application. Any loan money allocated was to be used for the economic benefit of the business.

Two months after receiving the Bounce Back Loan, Begum applied to dissolve the company. She signed the application form, despite this stating that a failure to notify any creditors was an offence. When the Insolvency Service began its investigation in July 2020, the company owed the full amount of the loan.

Investigators found that Begum had exaggerated the turnover of her company by around £110,400, and that New Polash Oldham Ltd was only entitled to a Bounce Back Loan of around £11,000 based on the takeaway’s actual turnover.

She had also allowed the takeaway to continue trading in the three months before her application to dissolve New Polash Oldham Ltd – a breach of the Companies Act 1986.

In a separate case, Simon Gorgin, applied for a £45,000 Bounce Back Loan for his company, P3 Estates Ltd, in May 2020. Gorgin was sole director of the company, from its incorporation in April 2010 until it was dissolved in December 2021.

Yet Gorgin stated on the loan application that P3 Estate’s turnover in 2019 had been £180,000. A loan of £45,000 arrived in the company’s bank account the following day.

But a month earlier, in April 2021 he had applied to dissolve the company and by July of the same year P3 Estates still owed the full amount of the loan, prompting an investigation by the Insolvency Service.

Investigators discovered that P3 Estate Ltd had never traded, and had not been trading at the time of the loan application and so had not been entitled to receive any money under the scheme.

They also found that three days after the loan arrived in the company’s account, Gorgin had further breached the rules of the scheme by transferring the full £45,000 to his own bank account.

And Gorgin failed to notify the bank from which he had borrowed the money that he had applied to strike off the company – breaching a legal obligation for directors to notify creditors when dissolving their business.

The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy accepted disqualification undertakings from the two directors, after both did not dispute that they had caused their companies to receive Bounce Back Loans to which they were not entitled.

Simon Gorgin also did not dispute he had failed to cause his company to falsely apply for a Bounce Back Loan when it was not actively trading, failed to ensure the money was used for the economic benefit of the business and failed to give the required notice to the bank of the dissolution of his business.

Rukia Begum’s disqualification lasts for 10 years and starts on 9 February 2023. Simon Gorgin was banned for 12 years, starting on 5 January 2023. The disqualifications prevent them from directly or indirectly becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.

A compensation order is being recommended to recover the money from both directors.

Peter Smith, Deputy Head of Dissolved Company Investigations at the Insolvency Service, said:

Bounce Back Loans were designed to help businesses to survive the pandemic. Rukia Begum and Simon Gorgin abused the scheme and took taxpayers’ money at a time when many businesses were in genuine need.

Their lengthy bans should stand as a warning that we will take action against directors who abuse government support schemes.

06/03/2023
PRESS RELEASE : Historic Northumberland Line to reopen next summer [March 2023]
The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 6 March 2023.

Fully accessible stations are being built to give 6 Northumberland communities regular train services.
- Transport Secretary announces regular train services will return to Northumberland Line in 2024
- journey times will be slashed in half and communities reconnected to jobs and opportunities helping to level up and grow the region’s economy
- investment forms part of government’s Restoring Your Railway programme, which reopens old stations and lines across the country
Passengers in the North-East will be able to reconnect with friends and family and enjoy greater access to business and education opportunities when the historic Northumberland Line reopens next summer.

The government is working with Northumberland County Council, Network Rail and Northern Rail to restore regular services to the vital line from next year, creating faster and easier journeys between Ashington and Newcastle.

The completed line will see journey times slashed in half, brand new stations built and historic railway towns, which have not seen footfall of eager passengers since the heydays of The Beatles, revived.

Transport Secretary, Mark Harper said:

Communities in Northumberland can get ready for regular train services that will better connect people to jobs, education and opportunities while growing our economy.

Restoring lost railway connections will drive tourism, boost local business opportunities and encourage investment across our regions, which is why I’m pleased to say that we are on track to reopen this historic line next summer.

With 6 new, fully accessible stations being built, the new line will stop at Ashington, Bedlington, Blyth Bebside, Newsham, Seaton Delaval, Northumberland Park and finally, Newcastle Central.

Northumberland County Council Leader Glen Sanderson said:

We are delighted to have reached this major milestone which gives the green light for the main construction works to start. This is such a transformational scheme which will bring benefits for residents, businesses and visitors for generations to come.

We have been working so hard over recent years to make this scheme happen, getting all the necessary planning and stations approved and preparing the line for the major works.

This is the moment we’ve been working towards, and I am so excited we’ve reached this point as we prepare to get trains rolling again through this part of our county.

Not only will the restoration of passenger services reconnect communities and improve connections, but it will also boost the region’s economy through improving access to jobs.

Once complete, the journey time between Newcastle and Ashington will be reduced from 70 minutes to just 35, with services operating regularly 7 days a week, providing easy access to jobs, education and tourism opportunities in the city centre for not only local residents but all those passing through too.

The line’s construction work alone has created almost 100 high-skilled jobs and apprenticeships, demonstrating the benefits it’s already having on the local community.

Congestion and air quality are also expected to plummet as people will be encouraged away from their cars and onto trains.

Matt Rice, Network Rail’s North & East Route Director said:

This is hugely welcome news as we get closer to delivering a transformed railway which will support the re-introduction of regular passenger trains and connect communities in Northumberland and Newcastle.

We’re proud to be working with our industry partners on this truly revolutionary project, which will boost economic growth and bring a new lease of life to the region.

The Northumberland Line project forms part of the government’s Restoring Your Railways scheme, which has been reinstating local services and restoring closed stations and railway lines that were axed as a result of the Beeching cuts in 1963.

It has already seen the successful delivery of the Dartmoor Line, which reopened to passengers in November 2021 and has since doubled its passenger services and benefitted students studying in Exeter.
06/03/2023
Anthony Browne – 2023 Speech on the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Bill

The speech made by Anthony Browne, the Conservative MP for South Cambridgeshire, in the House of Commons on 3 March 2023.

I, too, congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Buckingham (Greg Smith) on bringing forward this private Member’s Bill, and on his birthday as well—hopefully, seeing his Bill pass its Third Reading will be a fantastic birthday present for him. Like my various colleagues, I welcome the scope extension to include tradesmen and their tools, but I will concentrate my comments on the original rural focus of the Bill.

Like my various colleagues, I have a rural constituency; I have many farmers in my constituency, and whenever I ask them what their key concerns are and how we can help, rural crime is always one of their top concerns. Indeed, just at the end of last year, I had a meeting with local farmers in the village of Abington Pigotts, which incidentally has a wonderful pub called the Pig & Abbot. Anyone who is in the area should visit that pub. There were 30 farmers there, and we were talking about rural crime. I did a little poll: I asked, “Who has experienced rural crime in the past year?”, and every single one of those 30 farmers stuck up their hand. Every single one had been a victim of rural crime in the past year.

The police do their best. My hon. Friend the Member for Buckingham mentioned the hard work of the police, and I know they work hard in Cambridgeshire, but it is often very difficult to crack down on rural crime. As my hon. Friend the Member for North West Norfolk (James Wild) mentioned, urban crimes have a 25% higher enforcement rate than rural crimes. That is not just in South Cambridgeshire, obviously, but in all rural areas: when the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution did its big farming survey, 38% of farmers said that they had been victims of rural crime in the past year. Cereal farmers, who make up a large part of my farming community, are the hardest hit, with 51%—more than half—being victims of rural crime. As such, I fully appreciate and support the intent of the Bill.

It is easy for people to dismiss the seriousness of rural crime; it is often seen as something that we do not really need to worry about. Quad bikes and ATVs, which are the focus of the Bill, are often viewed as leisure vehicles by many members of the public—they see advertisements for quad bike adventures, something that can be done in my constituency as well—but for farmers, they are serious working vehicles. Various hon. Friends have mentioned how dependent farmers are on their equipment to make a living. For farmers, those quad bikes and ATVs make them far more efficient when covering large areas; without them, they simply cannot do the work. Many farmers work on very tight margins, and having farm equipment operational makes the difference between making money for the year, enabling them to pay their wages, and losing money. Having proper, working farm equipment is crucial to people’s livelihoods. That is why agricultural machinery theft was reported to be a top priority for the police to tackle in the 2020 rural crime survey.

Quad bikes and ATVs make particularly attractive targets. They are obviously transportable: a thief can load them on to a trailer or a lorry and whisk them away very easily. They often have poor security features that do little to deter those thieves. Their value on the second-hand market has increased recently, making them even more attractive as targets—that is because of the supply chain issues that make it quite difficult to order new ones, as we heard earlier. Currently, it takes three to six months to get a replacement vehicle, which is an incredibly long time for a farmer to cope without vital equipment.

As such, I fully welcome the measures in the Bill to clamp down on this problem: they make a lot of common sense. Cars have had immobilisers on them for over 20 years, and it is time that ATVs and quad bikes followed suit. Immobilisers act as a significant deterrent by making vehicles much harder to steal. As my hon. Friend the Member for Buckingham mentioned, this is not just about making it easier to catch vehicles afterwards, but about deterring the crime in the first place.

A vehicle register also seems like a natural step to take, as better record keeping will help put an end to the grey markets that the criminals tend to operate in. During my research for this speech, I came across the CESAR scheme—the construction and agricultural equipment security and registration scheme—which has a database of ownership and covert markings. That scheme has reported a 60% decline in thefts since it came into operation in 2008, and I hope this Bill will be the catalyst for a similar trend in quad bikes and ATVs.

The Bill will save farmers much aggravation from the fallout and cost of theft. It will be good for police, because it will hopefully reduce the amount of work they have to do, and if there are cases of theft, they will be easier for police to track down and solve. It will also lead to a reduction in insurance premiums over time, which will be incredibly welcome for farmers while energy prices and the cost of living are so high.

This and any Bill that tackles rural crime will always have my wholehearted support. We need to level up our response to crimes committed outside cities. I am glad to see that organisations such as the NFU and the Countryside Alliance, which I know are important in my constituency and elsewhere, fully support the Bill. I support it, and I hope it makes speedy passage through the Lords.

06/03/2023
Ruth Jones – 2023 Speech on the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Bill

The speech made by Ruth Jones, the Labour MP for Newport West, in the House of Commons on 3 March 2023.

I am pleased to be able to contribute to the debate. I congratulate the hon. Member for Buckingham (Greg Smith) on bringing the Bill forward and wish him a happy birthday— penblwydd hapus.

The Bill introduces a number of solutions to the growing problem of the theft of quad bikes and other all-terrain vehicles. We know from the National Farmers Union that there are between 800 and 1,100 thefts of ATVs every year. Aside from the financial cost, which is bad enough, there is the issue of the physical replacement of these vehicles. That can take months and hampers the vital work that farmers do to feed us and provide other important things for our country; I am thinking especially of the hill farmers in north Wales, who are very hard hit by the theft of these sorts of vehicles.

The introduction of these common-sense solutions—immobilisers, forensic marking and the setting up of a registration database—is so sensible. At the risk of incurring Mr Deputy Speaker’s wrath, I make a plea for the use of SmartWater, which is so important for not just farm vehicles but all items, to discourage and deter thefts and enable the police to return stolen items to their rightful owners very quickly. Forensic marking is so important.

I do not mean to detain the House for too long. I am sure Members from across the House will join me in thanking the hon. Member for Buckingham for bringing this positive and proactive piece of legislation before the House today.

06/03/2023
James Wild – 2023 Speech on the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Bill

The speech made by James Wild, the Conservative MP for North West Norfolk, in the House of Commons on 3 March 2023.

I, too, congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Buckingham (Greg Smith) on reaching this stage, and I look forward to his Bill hopefully passing later today. I also wish him a happy birthday. The Bill makes important changes to prevent the theft and resale of equipment and tools that are essential to agricultural businesses in North West Norfolk and across the country. The Bill has a relatively limited initial scope aimed at preventing the theft of quad bikes and ATVs, but I was pleased, as my hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Rob Butler) just referred to, that the Minister confirmed during Committee that the Government intend to extend the provisions beyond agricultural equipment to commercial tools as well.

There is currently no legal requirement to fit immobilisers or forensic marking to machinery and equipment, although some manufacturers choose to do so on a voluntary basis. By addressing that gap, the Bill will help to reduce this type of theft. In addition, the Bill allows the Secretary of State to require records to be kept relating to equipment that has been sold and its buyers.

Rural crime, in particular agricultural machinery theft, has a significant impact on my constituents. The proportion of suspects being charged for offences in towns and cities is 24% higher than in the countryside, and that imbalance must be addressed. Data published by NFU Mutual in its rural crime report of 2022 estimated the cost of rural theft to be £40 million, of which £5 million was in the east of England. Some £10 million was agricultural vehicle theft, but it is broader than that. Anyone who has watched the latest series of “Clarkson’s Farm” will have seen that it raised the issue of GPS devices being stolen regularly, and I hope the Bill will be extended to deal with that issue.

The Countryside Alliance’s rural crime survey presented stark statistics, with 32% of respondents reporting having experienced agricultural machinery theft, making it the second most reported crime, just 3% behind fly-tipping. Unsurprisingly, the rural crime survey found that agricultural machinery theft was respondents’ top priority for the police to tackle.

As we have heard, an estimated 900 to 1,200 quad bikes and ATVs are stolen each year, and this theft is damaging the livelihoods of farmers in my constituency and across the country. The cost of that theft is around £2.2 million. After a fall in the number of these thefts during the pandemic, for understandable reasons, they are now on the increase. Quad bikes and ATVs are essential to farming and land management, and have become a crucial piece of equipment to get around on a farm instead of using a tractor, whether that is to check livestock, move animals, move feedstock or set up fences, as well as many other uses.

I welcome the fact that my hon. Friend the Member for Buckingham has consulted widely; he gave a long list of the organisations he has worked with to get the Bill to this position. I am confident from the evidence I have seen that regulations requiring immobilisers and forensic marking will lead to a substantial reduction in this type of theft. I noted with interest in the explanatory notes that the proportion of road vehicles with immobilisers fitted increased to 98% between 1993 and 2013, which led to a decline of up to 45% in such thefts.

There is also a wider problem of tool theft. A report found that nearly four in five tradespeople had experienced tool theft, which is a striking statistic. While the financial cost of this theft is more easily quantifiable, it also has a damaging impact on people’s health and wellbeing.

I represent a rural constituency, and I believe it is important to introduce the regulations on ATVs as soon as possible. The Minister has indicated that he wants to do so by Christmas. While I support the extension of the Bill’s provisions to cover more agricultural and other equipment, any extra time required to develop that extension should not affect the plan to have the regulations in place by Christmas. I commend my hon. Friend the Member for Buckingham for his important work on getting the Bill to this stage, and I look forward to supporting it this afternoon.

06/03/2023
Rob Butler – 2023 Speech on the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Bill

The speech made by Rob Butler, the Conservative MP for Aylesbury, in the House of Commons on 3 March 2023.

It is a great pleasure to speak in this debate. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Buckingham (Greg Smith), my constituency neighbour, on introducing this important Bill, to which I am pleased to have contributed in Committee. It will be a fitting birthday present for him if it passes Third Reading today.

The Bill sets out much-needed changes that are straightforward, practical and will, as my hon. Friend says, no doubt help to reduce rural crime. From visiting farms in my constituency, I know how much the theft of machinery concerns farmers and the increasing impact it has had over the past few years. Indeed, the Countryside Alliance’s 2022 rural crime survey, which had more than 2,000 responses, underlines the extent of the problem, with 15% of respondents reporting having experienced the theft of agricultural machinery in that one year alone. Machinery theft was second only to fly-tipping.

As my hon. Friend says, it is no exaggeration to say that farmers depend on their machinery for their livelihood. Deprived of that equipment, farmers are simply unable to work as efficiently, and their ability to generate revenue is diminished. Not only that, but there is the costly, slow and sometimes stressful process of replacing the stolen machinery. It is crucial that farmers are given support to deter criminals from stealing their machinery and, in particular, the all-terrain vehicles specified in this Bill. It is crucial that farmers are given support to deter criminals from stealing their machinery and, in particular, the all-terrain vehicles specified in the Bill.

It is worth noting that demand for ATVs has grown recently at a rate that has outstripped the readily available supply. That, of course, increases the incentive for those with criminal intent, because they know they will be able to sell what they steal. The National Farmers Union has reported that members are having to wait three to six months to obtain one of these vehicles. That means the vehicles are especially lucrative because not only are they highly sought-after and easily portable, but there is a ready resale market in this country and, indeed, abroad. NFU Mutual’s annual rural crime survey stated that quad bike and ATV theft amounted to £2.2 million in 2021, which is not an insignificant sum.

Most of us will know from our own experience with cars that immobilisers are a tried and tested deterrent. When affixed to ATVs, they make them more secure. Their value is clear: since 1992, all new cars in the UK have been built with an immobiliser and, in the following 30 years, vehicle theft plummeted by an incredible 43%. While other factors may have contributed, data produced by the Home Office demonstrated a strong correlation between the increased fitting of immobilisers and the reduction in stolen vehicles. In the light of that, the standardised fitting of these devices on all new-build ATVs and the retrofitting of them to other vehicles prior to sale could prove to be a relatively cheap and highly effective approach.

My hon. Friend the Member for Buckingham has had the foresight in his Bill to consider not only the prevention of theft, but, where that sadly fails, the recovery of ATVs that have been stolen. The forensic marking he described should enable police forces to identify the ATVs they recover and more easily return them to their rightful owners. Furthermore, requiring sellers to record details of the sale, including information about the vehicle and the buyer, is key to the success of the Bill’s aims and provides an appropriate audit trail.

I am pleased to hear that my right hon. Friend the Policing Minister is considering extending the Bill’s provisions, as and when appropriate, to go beyond ATVs and include other equipment and commercial tools—a subject that was much discussed in Committee. Tool theft regularly afflicts an array of trades beyond farming, such as roofers, electricians and plumbers. Presently, the second-hand tool market is unregulated. That means that sellers have no obligation to prove the origin of their items or even to evidence the original purchase. It has been argued quite understandably that this encourages and facilitates the theft of tools. As with farmers, not only is the loss of equipment an immediate financial loss for tradespeople; it prevents them from working and can disrupt the schedule of their building projects, causing frustration to them and their customers.

The help that my hon. Friend’s Bill provides is necessary and timely. It is not right that security is such a significant concern for many farmers. The provision of immobilisers, forensic marking and recording of the sale of ATVs will reduce the likelihood that they will fall victim to this crime, which, as I have outlined, has an impact well beyond the immediate loss of the vehicle. I applaud my hon. Friend for the work he has done. I am absolutely confident that farmers in my constituency, as well as his, and across the entire country would benefit from this legislation. I look forward to his Bill making its way on to the statute book as soon as possible.

06/03/2023