The Government has responded to a public (paper) petition calling for a review of the use of retail businesses as cover for illegality. The petition was presented to the House of Commons by Bambos Charalambous MP on behalf of residents of the constituency of Southgate and Wood Green.
The petition asks the House of Commons to urge the Government to provide greater enforcement powers for local authorities to crack down on shops being used for illegal activities, to support the work of trading standards officers and specialist financial investigators, and to enable a framework for greater communication between trading standards officers and the police.
In response to the petition's request, the Government states that it is fully committed to preventing and tackling the use of shops for illegal activities and protecting our local high streets from such criminality.
At the autumn Budget, the Chancellor announced the creation of a dedicated cross-Government taskforce to tackle money laundering and associated criminality on our high streets, supported by £30 million over the next three years. This cross-departmental taskforce—set up in the Home Office—is working at pace to develop a long-term response to this problem. It is considering the full range of powers and mechanisms needed by local responders to tackle high street illegality to determine where existing capabilities need to be strengthened.
They are pleased to confirm that the Crime and Policing Act 2026 created a regulation-making power for the Home Secretary to extend the duration of closure orders under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. The Government are aware that these are important powers that local authorities and the police rely on to tackle those shops where criminal activity is being conducted. They intend to launch a consultation soon to help inform these new regulations. As mentioned above, the taskforce is also considering the broader range of powers that trading standards and the police require in tackling this problem, and will support the work of the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government’s soon-to-be published high streets strategy.
What are public (paper) petitions?
A public (paper) petition is a petition to the House of Commons presented by an MP.
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