Petition Make tool theft a specific criminal offence with tougher penalties

The Equipment Theft (Prevention) Bill was debated at second reading on Friday 2 December. This is the first opportunity for MPs to debate the main principles of a bill.

You can watch the debate on the Parliament Live TV website

Read the transcript of the debate

Equipment Theft (Prevention) Bill

This bill aims to prevent the theft and re-sale of equipment and tools used by tradespeople and agricultural and other businesses.

It includes provisions to:

- Prevent the theft of All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) and other equipment primarily for use in agricultural or commercial activities
- Allows the Secretary of State to make regulations requiring immobilisers and forensic marking to be fitted as standard to all new ATVs
- Allows the Secretary of State to make regulations on recording equipment sales

What happens next?

The bill has now been sent to a Public Bill Committee, where MPs will scrutinise the bill line by line.

Read more about the bill and keep up to date with its progress

What is a second reading?

Second reading is the first opportunity for MPs to debate the main principles of a bill.

The Government minister, spokesperson or MP responsible for the bill opens the second reading debate. They usually begin by responding with their views on the bill. The debate then continues with other Opposition parties and backbench MPs giving their opinions.

At the end of the debate, the Commons decides whether the bill should be given its second reading, meaning it can proceed to the next stage. If there isn't consensus that a bill should proceed to its next stage, MPs will vote on this.

Find out more about how second readings work

Further information

Find out how to get involved in the work of the UK Parliament: https://www.parliament.uk/get-involved/

The Equipment Theft (Prevention) Bill, which aims to prevent the theft and re-sale of equipment and tools used by tradespeople and agricultural and other businesses, has been agreed by the House of Commons.

This Bill will now be considered by the House of Lords, which also needs to agree its contents before it becomes law.

Equipment Theft (Prevention) Bill

This bill aims to prevent the theft and re-sale of equipment and tools used by tradespeople and agricultural and other businesses.

It includes provisions to:

• Prevent the theft of All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) and other equipment primarily for use in agricultural or commercial activities
• Allows the Secretary of State to make regulations requiring immobilisers and forensic marking to be fitted as standard to all new ATVs
• Allows the Secretary of State to make regulations on recording equipment sales

The Bill is a Private Member's Bill, and was introduced by Greg Smith MP.

What is a Private Member's Bill?

Private Members' Bills are Bills introduced by MPs who are not government ministers. They can be about any topic, but the main purpose can’t be to create a new tax or increase Government spending. Private Members' Bills must go through the same stages of consideration by Parliament before they can become law.

• Find out more about Private Members' Bills

What happens next?

The bill has been formally introduced in the House of Lords, and a date will now be set for the Second Reading of the Bill, where members of the House will debate the key principles and main purpose of a bill and to flag up any concerns or specific areas where they think changes are needed.

• Find out more about how a bill becomes a law
• Read more about the bill and keep up to date with its progress

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