MPs urged not to stall on new scrap metal bill

MPs are being urged to ensure that the countrys last chance to tackle scrap metal theft is not derailed in a crucial debate in Parliament tomorrow.

On the eve of Remembrance Sunday, local authorities are pressing for urgent action to be taken to tackle a crime which it says has seen memorials desecrated, caused transport chaos and cost the country hundreds of millions of pounds every year.

“The legislation for regulating the scrap metal industry has long ceased to be fit for purpose and we cant afford for Parliament to stall any longer on bringing it up to date”

Cllr Mehboob Khan, LGA

The Local Government Association, which represents more than 370 councils in England and Wales, is warning that a long overdue overhaul of scrap metal legislation will fail to materialise if the report stage of Croydon South MP Richard Ottaways Private Members Bill ends in deadlock tomorrow (November 9).

Although Private Members Bills rarely find their way into law, Mr Ottaway been given government backing for the Bill, which seeks to update the 1964 Scrap Metal Dealers Act, and has also received support from the British Metal Recycling Association (BMRA).

Measures

Among the measures proposed to tighten rules around trading scrap metal are plans to make local authorities responsible for issuing a licence to trade in scrap metal, paid for by the licensee, for which the local authority will have the power to revoke or suspend.

In addition, the Environment Agency would be responsible for maintaining a register of all licensed scrap dealers in the UK, which will be made publicly available. And, the Bill would make it a legal requirement for identity to be produced at the point of sale of scrap.

Police and local authorities would also be given greater powers to enter and inspect unlicensed scrap yards, with clause nine of the bill allowing entry to these premises with a court order, while the Bill would remove a loophole allowing itinerant scrap dealers to trade in cash, and would see a cash ban enforced across the whole of the industry.

Bill

Councils of all political parties are urging MPs to ensure the Bill is taken forward.

Cllr Mehboob Khan, chairman of the LGAs Safer and Stronger Communities Board, said: MPs owe it to their constituencies to do everything in their power to turn the tide on this mindless crime which is spiralling out of control.

Scrap metal thefts have caused transport chaos, closed down churches and schools, and caused heartache for families who have seen memorials to loved ones plundered for scrap. To steal at all puts public safety at risk but to take cherished memorial plaques is a heartless and offensive crime.

The legislation for regulating the scrap metal industry has long ceased to be fit for purpose and we cant afford for Parliament to stall any longer on bringing it up to date.

It will be a devastating blow to the millions of people who have been inconvenienced, injured or distressed by the metal theft epidemic if this opportunity to make a stand against metal thieves and rogue scrapyards is squandered.

‘Outdated’

The LGA claims that the majority of metal stolen by thieves for profit will end up being bought by scrap yards but that outdated legislation regulating the industry means that unscrupulous vandals who plunder metal are able to profit from their crimes without it being traced back to them.

Earlier this year, LGA research found that soaring scrap metal thefts have affected almost nine in ten councils, with thieves plundering drain covers, road signs, roofs, war memorials and graves.

The theft of gully covers, electric cables and street furniture have led to people falling down holes, power cuts and councils having to spend millions of pounds on repairs and replacements.