Cashless Scrap Metal Trade - Amendment to Scrap Metal Merchants Act 1964
Responsible department: Home Office
Due to a significant rise in value, metal has become a much sought after commodity. This increased demand has resulted in a sharp rise in metal theft nationally. Metal fencing, gates, manhole covers and other metallic items are stolen on a regular basis. Property is raided for lead, copper and cabling. War memorials and statues have been taken. Overhead power lines are stolen at serious risk to personal safety with huge costs for replacement and major inconvenience to the public. Historically the scrap metal trade has been a cash in hand industry. This creates difficulties as there is no audit trail, making identification of individuals who may be trading stolen metal or who may be committing tax or benefits fraud, a difficult proposition. An amendment to the Scrap Metal Merchants Act 1964 to prohibit cash transactions would make payment by cheque or directly into a bank account mandatory and would be a significant component in reducing metal theft.
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Thanks
Ian Robertson
Walsall.
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/406
How on earth would this be enforced?
ReplyDeleteThere aren't enough police/trading standards officers to enforce current regs on scrapyards, this wouldn't change anything.
These people are already breaking 4 or 5 laws - theft, unlicensed transfer, undeclared earnings, handling stolen goods, VAT, benefit fraud etc. Do you think this is going to affect them? Of course not. Utterly unenforceable. How many of these guys do you think are driving legal vehicles? Next to none.
The answer is more coppers on the beat, stopping unlicensed carriers and visiting yard to enforce the laws we already have. Not more laws that just add the list of stuff the cops haven't got the resources to enforce.
And stop giving stuff to tatters. It just encourages them.
Get more bods out enforcing the laws we have, for heaven's sake.
Bob