A trade body covering the scrap metal trade has urged Government to put in place a clear and rapid timetable to reform the Scrap Metal Dealers Act (1964) after amendments to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Bill to tackle metal theft.
The amendments were agreed to by the House of Commons on Tuesday, April 17 and will introduce a number of measures to combat metal theft including making the use of cash to purchase scrap metal an offence.
Ian Hetherington, director general of BMRA, said: “BMRA has stated time and again that simply banning cash alone will not achieve its purpose of making it more difficult to dispose of stolen metal while a rash of illegal scrap metal sites continue to trade. Instead, a cash ban needs to be part of a more thorough approach.
“The Government has already acknowledged the need to replace the Scrap Metal Dealers Act as soon as possible as it currently allows large numbers of operators to operate outside the licensing and inspection regime. It’s now imperative that regulatory reforms are brought forward without delay and are implemented alongside a ban on cash in order for it to be effective in tackling metal theft whilst protecting legitimate businesses.”
The BMRA says that it welcomes stronger police powers of entry at illegal sites. It argues that it would have a real impact on reducing metal theft whilst putting them on a level playing field with the law abiding majority. The BMRA says it continues to call for a rapid and comprehensive reform of regulations, to tackle metal theft including a tough new licensing regime, a single national register of merchants and reform of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act (1964), which it calls out-dated.
