Scrap metal bill goes before House of Lords

The Scrap Metal Dealers Bill moved to the House of Lords on Monday after a last-minute deal was done between the government and two Conservative MPs who had threatened to add more than 100 amendments to the bill and force it to run out of parliamentary time.

Philip Davies MP and Christopher Chope MP were unhappy with the amount of regulation the bill entailed and suggested it had been badly worded and not been scrutinised properly. Davies had tabled a number of amendments imposing lengthy prison sentences for metal theft, especially from war memorials.

However, an 11th-hour deal was struck, whereby a sunset clause was inserted into the bill, so that the effect and effectiveness of the new regulatory structure can be reviewed in three years and changes made if necessary.

The private members’ bill, which has cross-party and government support was introduced by Richard Ottaway, Conservative MP for Croydon South, and updates the eponymous 1964 Act by introducing compulsory licensing for scrap metal dealers, punitive fines and increased enforcement powers for police and local authorities.

Businesses, including Calor Gas, BT and Network Rail, as well as the Church of England, had demanded action to stop the theft of metal, which costs the UK economy £770m per year.