House of Commons Transport Committee

Cable theft on the railway

Fourteenth Report of Session 2010– 12

Volume I: Report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence

Additional written evidence is contained in Volume II, available on the Committee website at www.parliament.uk/transcom

Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 24 January 2012

HC 1609 Published on 26 January 2012 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited £14.50

The Transport Committee

The Transport Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Department for Transport and its Associate Public Bodies.

Current membership Mrs Louise Ellman (Labour/Co-operative, Liverpool Riverside) (Chair) Steve Baker (Conservative, Wycombe) Jim Dobbin (Labour/Co-operative, Heywood and Middleton) Mr Tom Harris (Labour, Glasgow South) Julie Hilling (Labour, Bolton West) Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative, Spelthorne) Mr John Leech (Liberal Democrat, Manchester Withington) Paul Maynard (Conservative, Blackpool North and Cleveleys) Iain Stewart (Conservative, Milton Keynes South) Graham Stringer (Labour, Blackley and Broughton) Julian Sturdy (Conservative, York Outer)

The following were also members of the committee during the Parliament.

Angie Bray (Conservative, Ealing Central and Acton) Lilian Greenwood (Labour, Nottingham South) Kelvin Hopkins (Labour, Luton North) Gavin Shuker (Labour/Co-operative, Luton South) Angela Smith (Labour, Penistone and Stocksbridge)

Powers The committee is one of the departmental select committees, the powers of which are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No 152. These are available on the internet via www.parliament.uk.

Publication The Reports and evidence of the Committee are published by The Stationery Office by Order of the House. All publications of the Committee (including press notices) are on the internet at http://www.parliament.uk/transcom. A list of Reports of the Committee in the present Parliament is at the back of this volume.

The Reports of the Committee, the formal minutes relating to that report, oral evidence taken and some or all written evidence are available in a printed volume. Additional written evidence may be published on the internet only.

Committee staff The current staff of the Committee are Mark Egan (Clerk), Jessica Montgomery (Second Clerk), David Davies (Committee Specialist), Tony Catinella (Senior Committee Assistant), Edward Faulkner (Committee Assistant), Stewart McIlvenna (Committee Support Assistant) and Hannah Pearce (Media Officer).

Contacts All correspondence should be addressed to the Clerk of the Transport Committee, House of Commons, 7 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA. The telephone number for general enquiries is 020 7219 6263; the Committee’s email address is [email protected]

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Contents

Report Page

Summary 3

1 Introduction 5 Our inquiry 5

2 Cable theft on the railway 6 Scale of the problem 6 Frequency 6 Regional differences 7 Costs of cable theft 7 Direct costs 7 Indirect costs 8 Effects of cable theft 8 Passengers 8 Freight 9 Safety 9

3 Causes 11 Offender profiles 11 Global commodity markets 11 Scrap metal industry 12 Background 12 Role in supply chain 13

4 Prevention 16 Rail industry 16 Police 17 Government 17

5 Conclusion 19

Conclusions and recommendations 20

Formal Minutes 22

Witnesses 23

List of printed written evidence 23

List of additional written evidence 23

List of Reports from the Committee during the current Parliament 24

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Summary

Cable theft on the railway causes increasing disruption to passengers, escalating costs to the rail industry and has seen ten people killed on the railway within the past year. In 2010/11 cable theft caused the delay or cancellation of over 35,000 national rail services and cost Network Rail over £16 million. This crime is part of a broader increase in metal theft from public spaces, which includes thefts from the railway, utilities companies and churches. Recent years have seen cable theft spread from hotspots in north east England across Britain, fuelled by increases in the price of copper on global markets. Ongoing demand for this metal means the appeal of cable theft to opportunist criminals is likely to continue. In this report we consider action that the rail industry, scrap metal industry and Government should take to tackle the domestic market for stolen copper cable.

The weak link in efforts to combat cable theft is the scrap metal industry. At present, stolen cable can be sold on and processed through the supply chain with relative ease, as original sellers of stolen metal are difficult to identify. Although there are requirements under the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 for dealers to maintain records of sellers, these are often inaccurate or incomplete. A more stringent statutory requirement for scrap metal dealers to maintain accurate records would help the police identify the criminals supplying stolen cables to the scrap metal industry. Greater accuracy could be achieved by requiring sellers to provide proof of identity before any transaction could proceed and we welcome the British Transport Police’s trials of such measures. To help with their work, the British Transport Police needs extra powers to enable its officers to enter and inspect scrap metal yards, regardless of whether or not they are registered. In addition, new offences such as aggravated trespass on the railway would increase the penalties associated with this crime.

These measures to help stop cable theft require urgent legislative change. Existing legislation regulating the scrap metal industry is outdated and reform of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 is necessary to improve identification of sellers, increase police powers and introduce new offences. The Government should bring forward proposals for reform of this legislation to make regulation of the scrap metal industry more effective. The damage to transport networks, passenger experience and the broader economy from cable theft requires this action.

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1 Introduction

Our inquiry

1. Cable theft in the UK is a growth industry. In the first half of 2011/12 there were 625 cable theft incidents on the railway, more than in the whole of 2009/10.1 These thefts have a significant financial impact, with direct costs to Network Rail amounting to £43 million over the past three years.2 There is also a broader indirect impact on the wider economy, estimated to be of a similar magnitude. Cable theft causes significant disruption and delay for passengers and last year resulted in an estimated 3.8 million passenger journeys being delayed or cancelled.3

2. Cable theft forms part of a broader trend of metal theft from public spaces. This includes thefts from churches, war memorials and utilities companies. The frequency of these crimes has increased as the price of metals on global commodity markets has grown and this trend does not show signs of reversing. Metal theft may affect transport provision in a number of ways including theft of: cables from the railway, platinum from catalytic converters, communications cables from the Coastguard Service or air traffic control and theft of metal from bus stops.4 We inquired specifically into cable theft on the railway because of the growing costs and disruption associated with this crime. However, some of our recommendations will help combat all forms of metal theft.

3. We launched our inquiry in October 2011. We asked for evidence concerning the recent increases in cable theft, its effects on passengers and rail services, potential safety implications and how cable theft could be prevented. We received 17 submissions of written evidence and undertook two oral evidence sessions. On 8 November we heard evidence from Network Rail, the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC), the British Transport Police (BTP) and the British Metals Recycling Association (BMRA). Following this session, we questioned the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, Norman Baker MP, on 29 November. We are grateful to those who provided oral and written evidence and we would like to thank our rail specialist adviser Richard Goldson for his assistance.

4. In this report we comment on the extent of the cable theft problem and the effects that this has on both the rail industry and passengers. We consider the reasons why cable theft has become such a significant issue, both in terms of the global market for copper and the domestic market for metals. We then assess the methods available for prevention and enforcement and make recommendations for reform.

1 Ev 21 para 3. 2 Ev 21 para 2. 3 Ev 29. 4 Q 79, Ev 36 para 1.2.

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2 Cable theft on the railway

Scale of the problem

Frequency

5. As figure 1 shows, cable theft has been increasing in frequency since 2004/05. The incidence of cable theft has “accelerated sharply” over the past few years.5 There are now an average of six to eight incidents a day related to cable theft on the rail network.6

6. Cable theft is not a new problem for the rail industry. In 2008 the NAO highlighted cable theft as a cause of delays on the rail network and noted this problem had worsened since 2006.7 Indeed, Norman Baker MP told us “it has been an issue for some time and the industry initially took the view that it was best kept quiet”.8

14,000,000 1200

12,000,000 1000

10,000,000 800

8,000,000

600

6,000,000 Number of incidents Cost of incidents (£) 400 4,000,000

2,000,000 200

0 0 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 to November

Cost (£) Number of incidents Figure 1 Graph showing the increasing number of cable theft incidents since 2004/05 (line) and the corresponding increase in the amount Network Rail has paid in compensation to train operators as a result of these incidents (bar).9

5 Ev 21 para 6. 6 Q 2. 7 National Audit Office, Reducing passenger rail delays by better management of incidents, HC 308, 14 March 2008, p12 and p36. 8 Q 95. 9 Adapted from data in Ev 26.

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Regional differences

7. Alongside the increasing frequency of cable theft, there has been a shift in its geographic distribution. Cable theft had previously been concentrated in the north east of England, with fewer incidents elsewhere in the country. The British Transport Police (BTP) told us that the north east is “the epicentre of metal theft as far as the railway is concerned.”10 Whilst cable theft is still more prevalent in the north east, it is no longer so geographically focused. Figure 2 highlights the changing distribution of cable theft across the UK from 2006/07 to 2011/12, illustrating what Network Rail described as a “migration of metal theft further south”.11

2006/07 2011/12 to November Wessex Western Wales Anglia Sussex East Midlands Scotland Western Anglia Kent Wessex London North Western Wales Sussex Scotland East Midlands Kent

London North Eastern

London North Eastern London North Western Figure 2 Graphs showing the incidence of cable theft, broken down by region. Data provided by Network Rail show the total number of incidents in 2006/07 was 538 and in 2011/12 was 688.12

Costs of cable theft

Direct costs

8. Direct costs of cable theft to the rail industry arise from track maintenance, replacing stolen cable and extra staffing requirements. In addition, if delays attributable to Network Rail exceed a certain threshold, it is required to compensate train operating companies for the disruption. The increasing cost to Network Rail of compensation payments to train operators due to delays caused by cable theft since 2004/05 is shown in figure 1. In the period from 2008/09 to 2010/11, Network Rail estimated that it had paid out almost £43 million in direct costs as a result of cable theft.13

10 Q 70. Proposed explanations for this trend were outlined in Ev 37 para 1.3. 11 Q 12. 12 Adapted from data in Ev 26. 13 Ev 21 para 2.

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Indirect costs

9. Witnesses told us of the broader financial impact associated with cable theft and its disruption to the transport network.14 For example, ATOC estimates that each year there may be an indirect cost to the economy of £16–20 million arising from train delays.15 However, we were also told that such estimates of the broader economic effect of rail disruption from cable theft are difficult to state with any accuracy.16

Effects of cable theft

Passengers

10. ATOC estimates that around 3.8 million passenger journeys were delayed or cancelled as a result of cable theft in 2010/11, with incidents in this period having caused over 360,000 delay minutes.17 Research by Passenger Focus indicates that rail punctuality is the single biggest driver of overall satisfaction with rail services,18 and this is undermined by the disruption caused by cable theft. In addition to delaying journeys, disruption also suppresses demand, as passengers switch to other modes of transport. ATOC told us “there is a clear link between reliability and our ability to attract people on to the railways”19 and that approximately 500,000 passenger journeys were not taken last year due to this suppressed demand.20

11. Network Rail provided us with information about the amount of compensation paid to train operators under Schedule 8 of the track access agreement for disruption to the rail network. The table below indicates the increasing costs to Network Rail over recent years as a result of cable theft (table 1).21

Table 1 Costs to Network Rail from cable theft-related compensation payments to train operators.

Financial Delay Compensation cost Total Direct Cost Year minutes (Schedule 8) to NR (estimate) 2008/09 283,167 £7,858,516 £12,264,682 2009/10 321,570 £10,931,350 £13,961,998 2010/11 365,265 £12,137,220 £16,510,663 Total 970,002 £30,927,086 £42,737,343

14 Ev 22 para 14. 15 Q 36. 16 Ev 21 para 14. 17 Ev 29. 18 Passenger Focus, Delays and disruption, rail passengers have their say, December 2010. 19 Q 37. 20 Ibid. 21 Table adapted from Ev 21 para 7.

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12. In addition to these arrangements, passengers who suffer delays to their journeys may be eligible to claim compensation for this disruption from the train operators. The manner in which this compensation is administered depends principally upon the franchise agreement relating to each train operator, but ATOC told us that train operators generally provided “more generous compensation during delay than the strict letter of the rules requires them to”.22 However, ATOC was unable to enlighten us as to the amount of compensation that train operators paid to their customers and how this compares to the amount the operators themselves received under Schedule 8. There should be greater clarity in compensation arrangements so it can be demonstrated that train operators are not profiting from the disruption caused by cable theft. We recommend that the Office for Rail Regulation works with the parties to secure open publication of these data. In our view, train operators should ensure that all eligible passengers receive the delay compensation to which they are entitled and we call on ATOC to undertake work into how this could be achieved. We recommend that the Government presses ATOC to carry out and publish this work.

Freight

13. The performance of rail freight services is equally affected by the disruption caused by cable theft. Rail freight operators told us that they have experienced over 110,000 delay minutes due to cable theft over the past year.23 Such delays may be compounded for freight services by the prioritisation of passenger transport and the additional costs associated with performance penalties to customers or delays in forward distribution.24 Freight operators also told us there is a reputational cost to their business, as increasing delays make transporting freight by rail seem less reliable.25

Safety

14. There are various risks posed to offenders, rail staff and passengers as a result of cable theft: ten people have been killed on the railway during the past year as a result of metal theft-related incidents.26 Offenders risk their own safety by handling cable which may be live and vehicles or equipment left by the track could prove hazardous. In general witnesses told us that cable theft was not a safety issue for passenger services, as signals are designed to fail-safe and turn red to stop trains if disruption occurs.27 However, there are issues for passenger safety if passengers attempt to exit stopped trains. We heard from the Minister that “there are existing measures on the railway which apply where trains can safely be moved under caution”28 that are being looked at in order to help passengers who are

22 Ev 28. 23 Ev w1 para 2. 24 Ev 23 para 22. 25 Ev w5, Ev w22. 26 Briefing cable theft, RAIL, 682, p43. 27 Ev w1 para 6. 28 Q 123.

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stopped near a station to complete their journey. We welcome Government measures to help stop passengers from being stranded in trains near a station. However, passenger safety should be a priority, and we note that the Office for Rail Regulation highlighted the potential for greater human error during these procedures.29 We recommend that the Department for Transport inform us of the changes it intends to make to current practices which would enable stranded passengers to be taken safely to stations through red lights during periods of disruption.

29 Ev w22.

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3 Causes

Offender profiles

15. Perpetrators can be broadly split into two groups; small-scale, local offenders and organised crime groups. We heard from the BTP that local criminals were responsible for the majority of thefts from the railway, these being “opportunist but nonetheless professional criminals”30 and that up to 80% of those arrested for metal theft have previous convictions for similar crimes. Metal theft has recently been included in the serious organised crime strategy, and the BTP welcomed this, but noted that at a maximum only 30% of cable thefts involved organised criminal gangs.

16. We also raised the issue of rail industry-insiders providing information to cable thieves. Copper thefts have occurred in storage depots, which suggests that inside information about where these materials are stored is used.31 Network Rail told us there have been arrests of contractors and Network Rail staff in connection with this crime.32

Global commodity markets

17. Cable theft is a market-driven crime. The evidence we received shows that the frequency of cable theft has increased to match the demand for copper on the global commodity markets. This trend is highlighted in the graph below, which illustrates the coincidence of high copper wire prices and the prevalence of cable theft (figure 3). Despite the global economic crisis, the price of copper has remained high and is expected to continue above or around $5,500 per tonne through 2012. Furthermore, demand for metals is projected to continue increasing until at least 2015.33 We should therefore plan on the basis that the demand for copper that drives crimes such as cable theft will continue.

30 Q 70. 31 Q 100. 32 Q 23. 33 Ev 33 para 2.3.

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5000 140 4500 120 4000 3500 100 3000 80 2500 2000 60 £/tonne 1500 40

1000 Incidents/month 20 500 0 0 Jan July Jan July Jan July Jan July Jan July 2007 2007 2008 2008 2009 2009 2010 2010 2011 2011

No 2 Copper Wire Incidence of cable theft

Figure 3 Graph showing the price of No 2 copper wire and its coincidence with the number of cable thefts.34

Scrap metal industry

Background

18. Criminals turn stolen cables to cash by selling it to scrap metal dealers. Once this metal is in the scrap metal industry and has been processed, the material becomes more difficult to identify and the seller more difficult to trace. In this way, stolen material can be passed into the legitimate trade. The metal recycling industry in the UK is worth approximately £5.6 billion and employs almost 8,000 people. In 2005, the industry recycled 13 million tonnes of metal, of which 60% was exported, making the UK amongst the five largest scrap metal exporting countries.35 There are approximately 3,500 registered scrap metal dealers in the UK. The BTP estimates that in addition to this there are also illegal sites and itinerant dealers that bring the total number of businesses operating in this sector to over 4,000.36 The British Metals Recycling Association (BMRA) told us that the illegal sites that are known to authorities represent only “the tip of the iceberg” and suggested that “the size of the illegal trade, in terms of numbers of sites, is possibly as large as the legal trade”.37

19. We have repeatedly heard that the scrap metal industry is the “weak link” in efforts to tackle cable theft and that efforts to rectify this are held back by the current legislative framework.38 Whilst the BTP explained that “there are significant parts of the industry that

34 Adapted from Ev 23 para 20. 35 About metal recycling, BMRA, http://www.recyclemetals.org/about_metal_recycling 36 Ev 39 para 2.2. 37 Q 73. 38 Ev 21 para 5.

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want to work with us and put this right”,39 it also acknowledged that “there is a significant element who are turning a blind eye or who are involved in criminality themselves” 40.

20. Members of the scrap metal industry have engaged with voluntary schemes to try and prevent the trade in illegally obtained metals. In conjunction with the ACPO Metal Theft Working Group, the BMRA developed a set of proposals in a voluntary code of practice to help prevent cable theft. These included:

• The use of CCTV at entrances and/or weighbridges in recycling centres and the retention of this footage for 28 days.

• Requiring persons unknown to the recycling centre are required to produce identification that includes their name, address and postcode so that records can be kept to identify the seller in each transaction.

• The maintenance of accurate records, as required by the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964.

• Requiring suspicious persons or transactions be reported to the local police force.

We appreciate that the legitimate trade is engaged with efforts being made to reduce cable theft and we agree with the premise expressed by the BMRA that “identification of the seller is the king here.”41 However, given the ongoing prevalence of cable theft, these voluntary measures are clearly not sufficient.

Role in supply chain

21. The principal legislation that regulates the scrap metal trade is the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964. This requires local authorities to keep a register of scrap metal dealers, though registration is the responsibility of dealers themselves and there is no fee associated with registration, and therefore little incentive or revenue to enforce it. The Act requires scrap metal dealers to keep records about their transactions, which include:

• The description and weight of the metal.

• The date and time of receipt of the metal.

• If the metal is received from another person, the name and address of that person.

• The price of the metal at the time the entry is made (or an estimated value).

• The registration mark of any vehicle used to deliver the scrap metal.

22. However, there is no duty on dealers to check the accuracy of the information provided by sellers, so the reliability of transaction records is questionable.42 Indeed, the BMRA told

39 Q 79. 40 Q 68. 41 Q 74. 42 Q 68.

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us that there are risks of the legitimate trade unknowingly handling metal that was originally stolen, as this becomes more difficult to identify as it passes through the supply chain.43 In our view the paucity of the audit trail for material within the scrap metal trade is likely to facilitate the laundering of illegitimately obtained material. More accurate record- keeping by scrap metal dealers would help identify sellers and discourage criminals from selling stolen material. This could be achieved through a requirement for anyone selling metal to provide proof of identification, such as a passport and utility bill, before a transaction could take place.

23. Such measures are being trialled by the BTP in conjunction with ACPO and the BMRA as part of Operation Tornado in Northumbria, Durham and Cleveland for six months from 3 January 2012. The recycling sites involved in the trial will be required to take measures to identify sellers as follows: evidence of identity will be required from anyone disposing of metal for cash (either a driving licence or passport with utility bill),44 no transactions would take place without such identification and CCTV systems should cover entrances and weighbridges with images being of sufficient quality to identify vehicles and drivers.45 Although the BTP has reported involvement rates of over 80% of registered dealers in this trial, this scheme is voluntary. In order for the BTP to be able to enforce such measures more effectively, legislative reform would be needed to make them mandatory and to move beyond the registered trade to target itinerant or non-registered dealers.

24. It has been suggested to us that another way in which the audit trail in the scrap metal industry could be secured is through a ban on cash trading.46 The scrap metal industry has traditionally been a cash in hand business and this facilitates the introduction of stolen material into the legitimate trade because previous sellers are hard to trace. However, the BMRA cautioned against the introduction of a cash ban, believing that this would drive away legitimate sellers, perhaps even increasing the illegitimate trade as sellers used illegal dealers who would remain willing to trade in cash.

25. A common factor across much of the evidence we have seen is that current regulation of the scrap metal industry requires reform.47 The Department for Transport explained that “Ministers are considering whether there is a case for updating the present legislation on the scrap metal industry”.48 Despite the concern to avoid an “additional burden”49 from new legislation, the Red Tape Challenge itself recognises that “good regulation is a good thing.”50 In our view there is a clear case for reforming this Act in order to help stop the trade in stolen metal.

43 Q 69. 44 A copy of these documents would be retained by the scrap metal yard for inspection by the police. 45 Ev 48. 46 Ev 25 para 36. 47 Ev 23 para 26, Ev 35 para 8.2, Ev w2, Ev w2 para 8, Ev w6 para 5, Ev w7 para 8, Ev w8 para 5.2, Ev w17, Ev w18 para 2, Ev w19 para 1.3, Ev w22. 48 Ev 50 para 11. 49 Ev 50 para 12. 50 Red Tape Challenge, http://www.redtapechallenge.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/about/

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26. The BTP described the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 as “Steptoe and Son legislation”. 51 We agree that this legislation is no longer suitable to regulate the industry. In particular, an accurate audit trail is necessary to prevent the trade in stolen cable, but current measures do not ensure that these records are kept. We recommend that the Government amends the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 and introduces measures to improve the audit trail for metal purchases, by requiring that sellers prove their identity before metal is traded at scrap yards. We also recommend that the Government explores the possibility of a trial of cashless trading in the scrap metal industry.

27. Our witnesses identified a variety of other weaknesses with the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 in terms of penalties for non-compliance and the powers given to the police. If a dealer fails to register or to maintain proper records, then the maximum fine that can be levied is £1,000.52 Given that copper now trades at over £5,000 a tonne, this level of fine no longer seems proportionate. We also noted three areas in which the Act does not confer powers to the police that would assist their operations:

• The ability to revoke registration of and close down premises trading in contravention of the Act.

• Permission for the police to enter unregistered sites (at present police may only enter the premises of registered dealers).

• Permission for the police to search premises (this requires a warrant from the courts).

We recommend that in reforming the Scrap Metal Dealers Act the Government provides for new powers for the police, so that officers are able to enter and inspect both registered and unregistered scrap metal sites.

51 Q 68. 52 Ibid.

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4 Prevention

Rail industry

28. Given that cable theft is partly a crime of opportunity, part of the solution to this problem might lie in making cable more difficult to steal from the railways. Our evidence set out a variety of ways in which this can be achieved through so-called target hardening measures, which include improvements to track-side security, the use of types of cable that are harder to steal and traceability technologies. Examples of these are listed below:

• Improving track security

• CCTV53

• Security fences54

• Trembler alarms55

• Different types of cable

• Spanish cable56

• Burying57

• Steel banding58

• Forensic markers

• Red web59

• Smart water60

• Anti-vandal paint61

These measures vary in their cost and efficacy, and witnesses argued that the size of the rail network makes it uneconomic to deploy such measures across the whole of the track.62 For example, buried Spanish cable is twice the cost of standard surface cable.63 Network Rail

53 Ev 49 para 7, Ev w1 para 7, Ev w3 para 3, Ev w6 para 4, Ev w8 para 5, Ev w18 para 4, Ev w20 para 3. 54 Ev w1 para 7, Ev w8 para 5. 55 Ev 49 para 7, Ev w8 para 5, Ev w18 para 4, Ev w43 para 3. 56 Ev 24 para 28. This is a cable made of a harder alloy, which is more difficult to cut and only used on the railway, thereby being difficult to sell on to a legitimate dealer. 57 Ev w3 para 3, Ev w8 para 5, Ev w18 para 4. 58 Q 27. This makes cable harder to cut and remove from its setting, so it is difficult to steal. 59 Ev 24 para 28. A grease or gel that contains a molecular tag, which transfers onto thieves during handling. 60 Ev w7 para 6. A liquid containing a marker that can be read under ultraviolet light. 61 Ev w8 para 5. 62 Q 8, Q 33. 63 Ev 30.

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told us they are using a variety of these methods to mitigate the cable theft problem, including covert cameras, different types of cable and forensic markers. In particular, cables may be buried in areas that have a history of theft or vandalism.64 We recognise the costs associated with the technical measures that make cable harder to steal, yet we find that there is a case for immediate implementation of these ‘target hardening’ methods. We recommend that Network Rail develop a costed programme of target hardening measures for areas particularly affected by cable theft as part of its control period spending review.

29. In the long term, a move away from copper cable to in-cab signalling, such as in the ERTMS trial, could reduce the impact of cable theft.65 However, full implementation may be decades away due to its cost and the logistics of such a roll out. Fibre optics could provide another alternative to copper cable, but Network Rail told us that thieves will also cut through fibre optics in their search for copper cabling, so such a change will not immediately eliminate disruption from cable theft.66

Police

30. We heard from the BTP about the range of methods by which they are trying to prevent cable theft, working with the Association of Chief Police Officers, Network Rail, the BMRA and infrastructure operators. The BTP’s activity has included coordinating action with local police forces, chairing ACPO’s metal theft working group and developing voluntary schemes or codes of practice.67 We were told that for the BTP this issue “occupies most of our waking time.”68

31. In addition to additional police powers, there should be new offences to discourage theft from the railway. Cable theft causes vast expense and disruption to the travelling public. We agree with the Minister when he says that cable theft causes “damage [...] out of all proportion to the value of the cable itself”.69 The response of the criminal justice system should reflect the severity of this crime, either through increasing the sentences handed down to cable thieves or the introduction of new offences. We recommend that the Government introduces a new offence of aggravated trespass on the railway in order to increase the penalties associated with cable theft.

Government

32. In our evidence session with the Minister, he assured us that the Department was at the forefront of efforts across Whitehall to deal with cable theft. These efforts are despite what

64 Ev 30. 65 The European Rail Traffic Management System Trial seeks to install modern cab signalling technology, which eliminates much track-side equipment and cabling. This is currently being trialled on the Cambrian line. 66 Q 27. 67 Ev 33 para 4. 68 Q 67. 69 Police declare war on £1billion metal theft gangs, London Evening Standard, 19 December 2011.

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might be interpreted as an initial reluctance from other departments to treat cable theft with the seriousness it deserves.70 We were advised that the Minister had now “persuaded them all” and that they had “seized the extent of the problem”, with a variety of measures being under consideration to help stop this crime.

33. In his December 2011 Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced that the Government will invest £5 million in a national taskforce to target scrap metal dealers who trade illegally in stolen metal.71 This taskforce will be led by the British Transport Police and will begin “an immediate programme of action” to tackle metal theft.72 The Secretary of State for Transport also assured us that this work will begin “as quickly as possible”.73 We welcome the introduction of this taskforce, though we note that this “immediate programme” has yet to begin and few details have as yet been supplied about the taskforce’s remit.74 We recommend that the Government sets out the priorities of the national taskforce on metal theft and the specific action it will take to tackle cable theft on the railway. Given that the legislative reforms we have recommended will take time to implement, the Government should consider providing extra resources beyond the taskforce-specific £5 million to the British Transport Police in order to assist its officers in implementing this initiative as a matter of urgency.

70 Q 121. 71 HM Treasury, Autumn Statement 2011, Cm 8231, November 2011, p 57. 72 HM Treasury, National Infrastructure Plan 2011, November 2011, p 107. 73 Ev 53. 74 Ibid.

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5 Conclusion

34. Cable theft is a growing issue for our railway and looks set to continue as part of a broader increase in metal theft. Last year over 35,000 national rail services were delayed or cancelled as a result of this crime and direct costs to Network Rail reached over £16 million. Though it has recently received significant media attention, cable theft is not a new problem for the rail industry and its continual prevalence has significant implications for the operation and economics of the railway. We note that Network Rail is already in breach of its licensing conditions, due to poor and deteriorating performance and punctuality.75 Recovery of this performance will require the issue of cable theft to be dealt with effectively, given that cable theft caused 365,265 delay minutes in 2010/11.

35. A key factor to the increase in cable theft is the ease with which illegally obtained copper cable can be sold on and laundered into the legitimate trade. The Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 is inadequate to regulate the modern industry and reform of this legislation is necessary. Principally, we believe the maintenance of a more comprehensive and reliable audit trail is necessary in order to prevent the movement of stolen cable from thieves through illegitimate dealers to the legitimate trade. This could be achieved through better record keeping about the seller in each transaction, in particular by a requirement that sellers provide proof of identification before transactions can proceed. The introduction of cashless trading may also be helpful in preventing the trade in stolen cable, though we are mindful of the potentially negative effects this may have upon legitimate dealers.

36. In addition to measures to regulate the scrap metal trade, we have heard convincing arguments for more powers for the British Transport Police and the introduction of new offences. Cable theft should not risk being seen as a low-risk, high-reward crime. It is not acceptable that the British Transport Police can only enter the premises of registered scrap metal dealers. These powers should be extended to all scrap metal yards. We would also support the introduction of aggravated trespass on the railway as an offence that would help prosecute or deter cable thieves.

37. The Government’s announcement of a national taskforce to tackle metal theft is a positive step in implementing a coordinated national response to this problem. However, we note that the £5million to support this urgently-needed taskforce is less than a third of the annual cost of cable theft to the rail industry. This is no substitution for the type of legislative change required to reform the operations of the scrap metal industry. Given the severity of the problem of cable theft for the railway, we expect the Department for Transport to continue to be at the fore of such efforts to combat this crime.

75 Network Rail in breach of licence for declining performance, Office of Rail Regulation, 19 December 2011, http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/

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Conclusions and recommendations

Passengers 1. There should be greater clarity in compensation arrangements so it can be demonstrated that train operators are not profiting from the disruption caused by cable theft. We recommend that the Office for Rail Regulation works with the parties to secure open publication of these data. In our view, train operators should ensure that all eligible passengers receive the delay compensation to which they are entitled and we call on ATOC to undertake work into how this could be achieved. We recommend that the Government presses ATOC to carry out and publish this work. (Paragraph 12)

Safety 2. We recommend that the Department for Transport inform us of the changes it intends to make to current practices which would enable stranded passengers to be taken safely to stations through red lights during periods of disruption. (Paragraph 14)

Role in supply chain 3. We recommend that the Government amends the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 and introduces measures to improve the audit trail for metal purchases, by requiring that sellers prove their identity before metal is traded at scrap yards. We also recommend that the Government explores the possibility of a trial of cashless trading in the scrap metal industry. (Paragraph 26)

4. We recommend that in reforming the Scrap Metal Dealers Act the Government provides for new powers for the police, so that officers are able to enter and inspect both registered and unregistered scrap metal sites. (Paragraph 27)

Rail Industry 5. We recognise the costs associated with the technical measures that make cable harder to steal, yet we find that there is a case for immediate implementation of these ‘target hardening’ methods. We recommend that Network Rail develop a costed programme of target hardening measures for areas particularly affected by cable theft as part of its control period spending review. (Paragraph 28)

Police 6. We recommend that the Government introduces a new offence of aggravated trespass on the railway in order to increase the penalties associated with cable theft. (Paragraph 31)

21

Government 7. We recommend that the Government sets out the priorities of the national taskforce on metal theft and the specific action it will take to tackle cable theft on the railway. Given that the legislative reforms we have recommended will take time to implement, the Government should consider providing extra resources beyond the taskforce-specific £5 million to the British Transport Police in order to assist its officers in implementing this initiative as a matter of urgency. (Paragraph 33)

22

Formal Minutes

Tuesday 24 January 2012

Members present:

Mrs Louise Ellman, in the Chair

Steve Baker Paul Maynard Mr Tom Harris Iain Stewart Julie Hilling Graham Stringer Mr John Leech Julian Sturdy

Draft Report (Cable theft on the railway), proposed by the Chair, brought up and read.

Ordered, That the draft Report be read a second time, paragraph by paragraph.

Paragraphs 1 to 37 read and agreed to.

Summary agreed to.

Resolved, That the Report be the Fourteenth Report of the Committee to the House.

Ordered, That the Chair make the Report to the House.

Ordered, That embargoed copies of the Report be made available, in accordance with the provisions of Standing Order No. 134.

[Adjourned till Tuesday 31 January at 10.00 am

23

Witnesses

Tuesday 8 November 2011 Page

Dyan Crowther, Director, Operational Services, Network Rail, and Michael Roberts, Chief Executive, Association of Train Operating Companies Ev 1

Ian Hetherington, Director General, British Metals Recycling Association, and Deputy Chief Constable Paul Crowther, British Transport Police Ev 8

Tuesday 29 November 2011

Norman Baker MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport Ev 15

List of printed written evidence

1 Network Rail, Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) and Rail Freight Group Ev 21, Ev 28, Ev 30 2 British Metals Recycling Association Ev 31 3 British Transport Police Ev 32, Ev 47 4 Department for Transport Ev 49, Ev 52, Ev 53

List of additional written evidence

(published in Volume II on the Committee’s website www.parliament.uk/transcom)

1 Freight Transport Association Ev w1 2 First Great Western Ev w2 3 Virgin Trains Ev w3, Ev w4 4 Freightliner Group Ltd Ev w5 5 Nexus Ev w5 6 Northern Rail Ev w6 7 Metro Ev w7 8 Merseytravel Ev w9 9 Passenger Focus Ev w10 10 Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) Ev w12 11 South West Trains Ev w18 12 Greater London Authority Ev w19 13 Office of Rail Regulation Ev w21

24

List of Reports from the Committee during the current Parliament

The reference number of the Government’s response to each Report is printed in brackets after the HC printing number.

Session 2010–12 Fourteenth Report Cable theft on the Railway HC 1609 Thirteenth Report Draft Civil Aviation Bill: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny HC 1694 Twelfth Report Cost of motor insurance: follow up HC 1451 Eleventh Report Thameslink rolling stock procurement HC 1453 Tenth Report High Speed Rail HC 1185-I Ninth Report Out of the jam: reducing congestion on our roads HC 872 Eighth Report Bus Services after the Spending Review HC 750 (HC 1550) Seventh Report Taxis and private hire vehicles: the road to reform HC 720 (HC 1507) Sixth Report The Coastguard, Emergency Towing Vessels and the HC 948, incorporating Maritime Incident Response Group HC 752-i (HC 1482) Fifth Report Keeping the UK moving: The impact on transport of HC 794 (HC 1467) the winter weather in December 2010 Fourth Report The cost of motor insurance HC 591 (HC 1466) Third Report Transport and the economy HC 473 (HC 962) Second Report Financial Scrutiny of the Department for Transport HC 683 First Report Drink and drug driving law HC 460 (Cm 8050) Tenth Special Report The proposal for a National Policy Statement on HC 1598 Ports: Government Response to the Committee Fifth Report of Session 2009–10 Third Special Report The performance of the Department for Transport: HC 549 Government response to the Committee’s Fourth Report of Session 2009–10 Second Special Report Update on the London Underground and the public- HC 467 private (PPP) partnership agreements: Government response to the Committee’s Seventh Report of Session 2009–10 First Special Report The major road network: Government response to HC 421 the Committee’s Eighth Report of Session 2009–10

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Transport Committee: Evidence Ev 1

Oral evidence

Taken before the Transport Committee on Tuesday 8 November 2011

Members present: Mrs Louise Ellman(Chair)

Steve Baker Iain Stewart Jim Dobbin Graham Stringer Julie Hilling Julian Sturdy Paul Maynard ______

Examination of Witnesses

Witnesses: Dyan Crowther, Director, Operational Services, Network Rail, and Michael Roberts, Chief Executive, Association of Train Operating Companies, gave evidence.

Q1 Chair: Good morning, and welcome to the Q3 Chair: You have both spoken about a growing Transport Select Committee. Could you please give problem. Why has this got worse? Is it to do with the your name and the organisation you represent for our value of the copper? records? Dyan Crowther: Yes. We know from analysis we have Michael Roberts: My name is Michael Roberts. I am done over a number of years that there is a direct Chief Executive of the Association of Train correlation not just to the price of copper but to the Operating Companies. price of metals generally. If you track the price of Dyan Crowther: My name is Dyan Crowther and I am copper and metals over the last six or seven years, as the Director of Operational Services for Network Rail. that has gone up and down, metal and cable theft on our network has gone up and down. It is also directly related to the ease with which copper can be stolen Q2 Chair: Could you tell us how much impact the and disposed of. That is one of the reasons why we theft of cable has on your operations? What is the have been lobbying quite hard for legislation changes. scale of the problem? We do an awful lot to mitigate cable theft. We have Dyan Crowther: I will start and I am sure Michael deployed a significant amount of resource and will supplement. It has a major impact on our investment over a number of years and we need some operational network. It is a network-wide help. There is not one silver bullet that will solve phenomenon. In terms of scale, we average six to metal or cable theft on the network. We know that eight incidents a day. Indeed, we had two major because we have tried a number of avenues and incidents on the East Coast last night, but, due to some initiatives. We are now looking at attacking the supply good work from our maintenance people, we were chain at source, focusing on where the thieves dispose able to run a full service this morning. We believe that of the metal and cable, and making that a lot more will make up 6% to 8% of total delay on our network. difficult for them to do. In the year to date we have had over 600 incidents of cable theft, which is equivalent to the figure we Q4 Chair: Mr Roberts, are you working with received in the last financial year. It is a growing Network Rail to address this? problem. It causes significant delay to passengers and Michael Roberts: Very much so. The lead for a lot of issues also for our staff in terms of addressing this issue within the industry is with maintenance. Network Rail as the body responsible for the network, Michael Roberts: To complement what Ms Crowther but train operators can help. Drivers, for example, said, it is a growing problem. In 2009 there were just have been briefed to keep an eye out for anything that under 750 incidents related to cable theft on the looks like suspicious line-side activity—white non- network. In 2010Ð11 that had increased to just under branded vans, for example, that might be next to the 1,000. In terms of the number of services affected, last line, or, indeed, people without hi-vis jackets, which year cable theft either delayed or caused cancellations you would expect from railway staff—and alerting not to over 35,000 services. If you take as an assumption just Network Rail but, of course, the British Transport that each of those services has an average loading Police, with whom also, with Network Rail, we are across the network, that means that just under 4 working very closely in addressing this problem. million passenger journeys were affected. It is a significant problem; it has been growing as the price Q5 Iain Stewart: That leads on to the question I was of copper on world markets has grown over time, and going to ask about whether there is a regular pattern it is a problem which affects all parts of the network to this theft. Is it typically a night-time activity when and a variety of types of traveller. For us, as indeed trains are not running, or are they quite brazen about for our colleagues in Network Rail, this is an issue being out in open daylight and cutting and taking the which really does need to be addressed. wire when the services are running? cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [E] Processed: [17-01-2012 10:40] Job: 016898 Unit: PG01 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/111108 - CTR - corrected - draft.xml

Ev 2 Transport Committee: Evidence

8 November 2011 Dyan Crowther and Michael Roberts

Dyan Crowther: There is no real direct pattern. Cable Dyan Crowther: Yes, there are regional differences. theft appears to be a random event. You will hear from my colleagues in British Transport Police later on, I Q12 Graham Stringer: Can you describe those am sure, who will talk to you about the type of people differences for us and tell us if you think there is any that steal cable. They are opportunists; therefore, it is particular reason for them? quite difficult to predict. It is very random and that Dyan Crowther: Cable theft started as an issue in the makes our response to these events quite difficult. north-east and on London north-eastern routes specifically. I know that. I was the route director in Q6 Iain Stewart: In your earlier comments you York at the time. It was an issue that was very live to referred to the supply chain—the dispersal of the me. At that time, four or five years ago, it made up metal once it is stolen. Again, is there a regular pattern 10% of my total delay, and my total delay over a year there? Do they tend to go to registered scrap metal was 2 million minutes; so it was very disruptive. In dealers or is there a much wider black market through terms of the reasons why, again, a lot of it, we think, which this metal can be dispersed? was associated with the economic areas. I have Dyan Crowther: I do not have a huge amount of already mentioned that the usual cable thief is an knowledge on that. I am sure my colleague, Paul opportunist, someone who will do it on a random Crowther, can give you some further information on basis. It was also availability in terms of where a lot that later on. of scrap yards are located with regard to the ease of disposal. It has grown and we know it is growing, Q7 Graham Stringer: Are there alternatives to not just from Network Rail’s perspective but for other copper cabling? industries as well. We work very closely with Dyan Crowther: Yes, there are. industries like the Energy Networks Association and Openreach. We plot cable theft and metal theft Q8 Graham Stringer: What, roughly, are the collectively; we know where our hot spots are. We economics of installing new systems against the losses know that, if Openreach have a problem in Scotland, you are suffering at the present time? it will come to us because they will target-harden their Dyan Crowther: It is not economic or achievable to facilities and the thieves will come to the railways. replace all of our cable. We have over 20,000 miles We know that it migrates; there is a displacement. We of network. If you look at how much cable we have can do a lot of things in specific areas and it becomes to support that network, that is quite a large amount. displaced. To a certain extent that is why we are For us to put together a business case or a plan to asking for some help on legislation and focusing on replace all of our cable is not sensible. the supply chain of metal theft. Over the last 12 to 18 months we have seen a Q9 Graham Stringer: Can you give us the headline migration of metal theft further south. We have had figures in terms of how much it is a year—I do not fairly high-profile incidents in Woking at the start of know what the best year would be—and what it would the summer, in June. We had cable theft at London cost you per mile or per 100 miles to replace it with Bridge. As I said earlier, we have six to eight thefts a alternative technology? day and those are across the whole of the network, Dyan Crowther: I cannot give you all of that detail, not just in the north-east. but I am sure we can provide that later. In terms of direct costs to Network Rail, in the last three years it Q13 Chair: Are any of these thieves impersonating has been just over £43 million. If you split that, it is railway staff? about two thirds compensation to train operators and Dyan Crowther: Yes, we have evidence of that, and, the other third is direct costs to us. There are indirect again, what we try and do is share information in costs as well associated with that in terms of our staff terms of where we know our gangs are going to be on being deployed elsewhere. In terms of direct costs, it the day. Generally, all of our vans are branded is £43 million. Network Rail. This is where we work with train operators to brief drivers, “If you see any suspicious Q10 Graham Stringer: And what are the costs of activity, something that you know should not be there, new systems—just headline figures? then please report it”, and we have had a number of Dyan Crowther: In terms of new systems, one of the successes where we have been able to stop cable systems we are looking at is Spanish cable, a hardened thieves in the act because of good reporting from cable which is very difficult to cut. I do not know the drivers. cost of that off the top of my head. It is not so much the cost of those systems; it is the implementation and Q14 Chair: How much of that £43 million is being able to achieve engineering access, because you compensation to the train operating companies? would be talking about closing the network down in Dyan Crowther: Approximately two thirds. many parts. We already have a major re-signalling programme going on. To disrupt that would be very Q15 Chair: How is that worked out? What is the hard. Again, I can come back to you with the unit basis of the calculation? costs of those. Dyan Crowther: The basis of the calculation is something that is enshrined within our contractual Q11 Graham Stringer: You said earlier that there relationships with train operators. Generally, it is was no discernible pattern to these events, but there around delay minutes and the number of services that are regional differences, are there not? are cancelled. cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [O] Processed: [17-01-2012 10:40] Job: 016898 Unit: PG01 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/111108 - CTR - corrected - draft.xml

Transport Committee: Evidence Ev 3

8 November 2011 Dyan Crowther and Michael Roberts

Q16 Julian Sturdy: I think you both mentioned that know that there is some form of surveillance there there is no one silver bullet to solve this problem, rather than waiting for the theft to happen. which I would certainly agree with, and, as you rightly mention, we are seeing metal theft becoming a huge Q19 Jim Dobbin: Mr Roberts and Ms Crowther, you issue across the country, not only with cable theft but have both alluded to the fact that you need more help in other areas as well. What action are you taking with to do this. Are you referring to help from the CCTV in certain specific areas—and I know you Department for Transport? What kind of help could could not put CCTV across the whole network—to try you do with? and target certain hot spots? One of the biggest issues, Michael Roberts: In particular, what we would like to I feel, if we are going to stop it, is that we have to see would be some form of regulatory action brought identify the metal at source, at the scrap yard. Are you into play through Government to complement the doing anything to help the police identify cabling operational work that Ms Crowther has mentioned. when they do spot checks at scrap yards? We would see that being a cross-Department or Dyan Crowther: Yes, we are, and we do use CCTV. Government responsibility to introduce. I have to say We also have trembler alarms and what we call ballast that the Department for Transport has been helpful, cams, which are very small hidden cameras. We have and the relevant Minister, Norman Baker, has been a number of surveillance devices that are tracked back assiduous in arguing the case within Whitehall that to our controls which we deploy in areas that we some form of proportionate regulatory action, believe are hot spot locations or can become hot spot alongside the other things that we have been talking locations. We gain that intelligence from working with about this morning, would help us better target this our colleagues in the British Transport Police issue and reduce the effect of cable theft on the Intelligence Unit. We try and predict and prevent industry. rather than just react. We use a lot of surveillance equipment. We also use a number of products which Q20 Jim Dobbin: The trade unions have alluded to allow us to mark forensically a lot of our equipment. the fact that reductions in staff have affected your SmartWater is an example. We have been running a ability to keep a check on this. Do you think that is fairly successful trial on the London North Western, an issue? in the Nuneaton area, where we have deployed Michael Roberts: For my part, I am not quite sure SmartWater quite successfully to try and combat and, what reductions in staff they might be referring to. indeed, convict cable thieves. Yes, we do use that, and we also use SmartWater successfully on High Speed Q21 Chair: Perhaps Network Rail should answer 1. that. Do you have reductions in staff at the moment? Dyan Crowther: Yes. As part of our efficiency Q17 Julian Sturdy: You say that has been measures we have been reducing the number of successful. Can you quantify that? Is it the case that maintenance staff that we have around the network the thieves are aware of that and are leaving those and we use external security companies to undertake particular areas alone, or has it aided to bring about our security patrols. There is a very good reason why convictions? we do not use our maintenance staff to undertake Dyan Crowther: It has been successful in the sense of security patrols, which is because of specific training; aiding convictions and identifying scrap yards that are similarly, a lot of our maintenance staff are out and accepting metal that has been stolen. That has been about at night and we need to have a 24/7 presence in very important to our colleagues in the police force in some areas, certainly in hot spot locations. A decrease terms of being able to mark items and identify them in staff should not really have an impact on an at the source from which they have originated. increase in cable theft.

Q18 Chair: You say you are using CCTV and Q22 Jim Dobbin: What would be the cost of trembler alarms. How are you approaching that? Are employing security companies to do this? they being put everywhere or in the danger spots or Dyan Crowther: There is a cost, but there is also a potential danger spots? What is the profile? cost in not employing them. Yes, we have a direct Dyan Crowther: They are broadly put in our hot spot cost. Sometimes the security patrols are paid for from locations. We also deploy them around re-signalling our project teams because it is associated with re- schemes. We know that, when we are about to signalling schemes. Generally, we bring them in on undertake a re-signalling scheme, the risk for cable fairly short-term contracts because it is almost the theft increases because it is almost like providing initial response; we need additional security while we sweets in a sweet shop; you suddenly have an influx are looking at additional target-hardening measures, of cable. We work very closely with our colleagues in which could be cable burial, better fencing or a the police to take recommendations on the types of number of other activities that we have in our toolkit. mitigation measures we should put in place. In the We quite often deploy security staff as a transitionary past we have always laid cable out ready to go into measure, and we will, more often than not, work with troughing. We do not do that any more. Those are the British Transport Police to make sure that, where some of the sensible practical things we can do to we are deploying security patrols, we are not double- cut the supply off at source. By deploying things like counting in terms of the resources that BTP deploy as trembler alarms and CCTV before we even get cable well. We try to do it very much as teamwork rather thieves, it almost acts as a deterrent in itself. They than treading on each other’s toes. cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [E] Processed: [17-01-2012 10:40] Job: 016898 Unit: PG01 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/111108 - CTR - corrected - draft.xml

Ev 4 Transport Committee: Evidence

8 November 2011 Dyan Crowther and Michael Roberts

Michael Roberts: It might also be worth adding that solutions? What specifically are the solutions that you the industry contributes to the funding of BTP, which, are looking at as alternatives to cable? since 2005, has steadily increased, making available Dyan Crowther: There are a number of solutions that resources in the round for policing, but including this we are looking at which are short-term in mitigation. area as well. In the spirit of the current economic The first is steel banding all of our cable. The circumstances, the industry is keen to ensure that BTP intention there is to make it difficult for thieves to pull is spending that money efficiently and deploying it out of the troughing in the first place. The tactic is resources efficiently, but our priority, together with very much how we make this difficult, because if you them, of course, is to ensure that, in the context of are an opportunist thief you want to be in and out very making improvements in cost efficiency, we do not quickly. The more walls we put in the way—better compromise front-line operations. fencing, steel banding, burying cable—the more Dyan Crowther: We have also worked very closely difficult it makes it so that they feel less inclined and with British Transport Police in providing some less opportunist on our network. Those are some of funding for some additional dedicated cable theft the short-term tactical things that we are deploying resource, because they themselves realised that this across the network at the moment in hot spot was an issue that was not going away and it was not locations. We also ballast-bury and deep-bury cable at something that was going to be dealt with in a part- certain locations. With regard to the longer term, a time capacity. As an industry and as a police force, new in-cab signalling system is clearly the answer. we had to say, “Okay, we are serious about this and Some Committee members may be aware of the we need to put some proper resource into it”, which ERTMS trial, which is the replacement for signalling is why Network Rail were prepared to provide the that we have on the Cambrian coast at the moment. additional funding that BTP were asking for. That is 20 to 25 years away. It is not a quick fix in terms of replacing the way that we signal our trains. Q23 Chair: You mentioned earlier that thefts The other issue is around fibre optic cables. Quite sometimes take place when re-signalling is planned. often thieves will cut a cable, looking for copper, and How do they know it is going to happen? Do you it will be fibre optic, and it is the fibre optic that publish the information or is that insider information? causes us quite a lot of problems as well. Dyan Crowther: It is a combination of both. We publish all of our engineering works on our website Q28 Julie Hilling: You talked about Spanish cabling. because that is a requirement in terms of passenger Is that the steel-banded cable or is this different information. Yes, there is evidence that there is insider altogether? knowledge. There have been a number of arrests of contractors and, indeed, Network Rail staff Dyan Crowther: No. Spanish cable is encased in a themselves who have been associated with cable theft. hardened core. It makes it very difficult for thieves to cut, so, again, it is another disruption technique. Steel banding is attractive to us because it is something we Q24 Chair: What is the scale of that? can do today. We do not have to re-lay the cable. We Dyan Crowther: Not huge. Mr Crowther will, I am can just steel-band it and make it more secure in its sure, be able to give you some additional specifics, but it is not something we are getting every day. It is current troughing. not the norm. Q29 Julie Hilling: When you have to replace Q25 Chair: But some of it is from information you cabling, do you then use Spanish cabling? publish, not just insider information. Dyan Crowther: As part of our renewal schemes Dyan Crowther: Yes, it is. It is difficult to ask a cable when we are renewing cable we look at a number of thief, “How did you know that there was going to be measures around cable theft, and, if we think we need signalling cable there?” It is not a question I would to put Spanish cable in because it is a particular hot ask, but, then again, it may be something for Mr spot location, we will do so. Crowther to answer. Q30 Julie Hilling: Why are you not doing that Q26 Chair: We will pursue it further with him. everywhere? Michael Roberts: It might also be worth mentioning, Dyan Crowther: It is about cost, because there is a picking up on one of the earlier questions about cost associated with this. Is it economic for us to do whether there is a pattern to when this activity so? Yes, there is a huge amount of disruption, but to happens, that there is not a clear pattern. Some of this do that would be quite a big financial burden. activity is taking place at peak times when, traditionally, signalling work is not carried out Q31 Julie Hilling: But, wherever you are replacing because of the volumes of traffic being conveyed on cabling, whether that is through renewals or theft, why the network. Ms Crowther made reference to the are you not using the Spanish cabling then? incident in Woking, which was at peak time and had Dyan Crowther: Because in some locations we may an enormous effect on people trying to get back home choose to bury it. There are a number of things that in the evening. I think this is an issue that spans all we would choose to do. parts of our operation as a network. Q32 Julie Hilling: But are you still replacing copper Q27 Julie Hilling: Can I go back to the questions cabling with copper cable? that Mr Stringer was asking in terms of engineering Dyan Crowther: Yes, in some locations. cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [O] Processed: [17-01-2012 10:40] Job: 016898 Unit: PG01 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/111108 - CTR - corrected - draft.xml

Transport Committee: Evidence Ev 5

8 November 2011 Dyan Crowther and Michael Roberts

Q33 Julie Hilling: That is what I do not understand. reliable rail network, which, of course, we have I can understand why you cannot do the whole increasingly been in the last 15 years, is critical to our network now and say, “Let’s change it all”, but, when ability to meet the wider transport needs of the you have to change cable, I do not understand why economy. you do not then use one that is not good for the market and is harder to steal. Q37 Chair: Have you tried to estimate a cost for Dyan Crowther: In some areas where we are those wider impacts? replacing cable we have no evidence and no Michael Roberts: Apart from the wider impacts in likelihood of cable theft or copper theft. There are a terms of lost productivity, the reputational impacts and number of criteria that we look at, and that is an what that means in terms of our ability to retain and assessment that is done during the renewal phase. The attract business, we have been able to look at the engineers will work quite closely with the routes to industry ways in which we assess the value of determine the level of mitigation that is required. The reliability. There is a clear link between reliability and Spanish cable is fairly new. It is something that we our ability to attract people on to the railways, which have trialled in the north-east and it has been has a value in terms of the revenue that we can earn successful, but it is not something that we are now through fares, for example. If we assume that the just going to roll out across the network. impact that cable theft-related delay has on people’s perception about reliability has the same effect as Q34 Julie Hilling: Is that cabling more expensive other forms of delay, then we would estimate that the than copper, or how much more expensive is it? potential lost business to the railways is of the order Dyan Crowther: I do not know is the answer to that, of 0.5 million passenger journeys a year, which has a but we can come back to you on that one. revenue impact of about £3 million or £4 million a year. That is not insignificant. To put that into context, Q35 Chair: How do you work out the overall cost of the network currently makes possible over 1.3 billion cable thefts? What factors go into that? passenger journeys a year. Dyan Crowther: There are the compensation costs, which are costs that are attributed to train operators in Q38 Steve Baker: You have talked about the terms of the level of compensation that they are paid, widespread cost and inconvenience. Have you formed and the direct costs are things like the cost of the a view on the adequacy of sentencing and cable, the amount that has been stolen and the amount reoffending? of additional resources that we have employed. In Michael Roberts: Our instinct would be that some areas, for example, we have employed what we sentencing probably could be tougher. That is a matter would call hand signallers so that when we do get for others to decide upon, but we would like to see metal theft we can deploy hand signallers to get the the wider impacts and value of the disruption caused train service running as fast as possible. We have as a result of criminal offences surrounding cable theft employed additional maintenance gangs in hot spot being taken into account rather than just the pure locations so that we can deploy them immediately, value of the theft of copper that is involved in those and, again, there are things like additional surveillance incidents. equipment. All of those items are direct costs to us that we would not normally have looked at. Q39 Steve Baker: Have I understood correctly that we are talking about mostly opportunistic, low-level Q36 Chair: Is that in the figure of £43 million that thieving here? Is that right? You are not talking about you gave us before? That is where it comes from. large organised criminal gangs. Dyan Crowther: Yes. Dyan Crowther: Mr Crowther, my colleague, I am Michael Roberts: In addition to that, we estimate that sure, will be more specific, but the majority is there are wider costs to the economy. There is the lack opportunist. There are some organised gangs; there is of productive time in the economy owing to delays evidence of that, and I am sure that Mr Crowther will caused to people not being able to reach their work go into that in his evidence. on time and consequently not being able to use that time as productively as they would otherwise have Q40 Graham Stringer: If I have worked the figure done. Using the Government’s appraisal methodology, out correctly from what Ms Crowther told us, the train we estimate that those wider costs to the economy are operating companies get compensated by £28 million probably of the same order of magnitude as the direct a year. Is that right? costs that Ms Crowther has talked about. It would be Michael Roberts: No, that is not correct. something in the region of £16 million to £20 million a year to the economy. Q41 Graham Stringer: What is the figure? For us, the additional concern is what this issue would Michael Roberts: It is closer to £12 million to £13 mean for the reputation of rail if it was unchecked. million a year. Our ability to provide services reliably is fundamental to our ability to attract people to use the railways away Q42 Graham Stringer: Did I mishear, because Ms from other forms of transport, such as road transport, Crowther said it was £43 million? and thereby to help relieve congestion, which itself is Michael Roberts: Over three years. a drag on the economy. Although we have not been able to quantify that wider impact, for us, ensuring Q43 Graham Stringer: That is over three years. I that we can tackle cable theft in order to remain a misheard. cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [E] Processed: [17-01-2012 10:40] Job: 016898 Unit: PG01 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/111108 - CTR - corrected - draft.xml

Ev 6 Transport Committee: Evidence

8 November 2011 Dyan Crowther and Michael Roberts

Michael Roberts: That is the total direct cost. Michael Roberts: Indeed. It may not be straightforward, but we will endeavour to get those Q44 Graham Stringer: I missed the “three years”. figures for you. In terms of the compensation, how much of it ends up Chair: That would be helpful to us. in the passenger’s wallet? Michael Roberts: I am unable to say how much Q50 Julie Hilling: My questions were very much compensation has been paid directly as a consequence along the same lines but I just wanted to harden a specifically of cable theft related to delay. question at the end. Are the train operating companies profiting by cable theft? Q45 Graham Stringer: Are there figures available Michael Roberts: No is the straightforward answer to of the difference between what goes to the train that. I refer back to my previous answer, which was, operating company and what is passed on to the given that there is a link between reliability and the passenger? ability to earn revenue, and given that cable theft is Michael Roberts: In terms of compensation that is impacting on our ability to deliver a more reliable passed on to the passenger specifically as a result of service, there is a revenue loss to our industry as a this issue, I am not aware of the figures being consequence. available, but there are arrangements which have been in place for some time now whereby passengers who Q51 Julie Hilling: You are talking about a long-term have suffered delay are able to claim compensation loss of revenue, potentially, because people may then from operators. The precise form of those choose not to take that journey, but, in terms of an compensation arrangements depends on when the incident taking place and you claiming compensation franchise was let to run a particular train service. for that incident taking place, what is the train There are essentially two types of compensation operating company pocketing for that incident? How arrangement. One is known as the delay repay much of that compensation goes into the coffers? I scheme. The other is based on the old passenger accept your point absolutely about long-term revenue, charter arrangements. If it would be helpful, we can but is there other expenditure the train operating make some of the details on how those things work company has to have from an incident, or is that available to the Committee. money going into the coffers of the TOC? Chair: We would be interested to know how that Michael Roberts: That money gets paid as part of the works because we are hearing about large amounts of standard arrangements which have existed for some compensation paid to the train operating companies, time in the industry. I am not aware that operators but it is not entirely clear to me where that goes and would incur significant additional expenditure as a how much of that gets passed on to the passengers, result of the delays caused by cable theft. who are the people who are losing out. Q52 Julie Hilling: The answer is that that money Q46 Graham Stringer: It would be interesting to then is going into the train operating company coffers. know. You said previously that there are 4 million Michael Roberts: In the same way that compensation passengers affected. Do you have figures for what the is paid under standard arrangements by Network Rail average delay is to those 4 million passengers? to operators for any form of delay that emerges from Michael Roberts: I do not think we have figures on delays from the network. the average delays across the whole network. We have figures for the aggregate number of delay minutes caused as a result. Q53 Julie Hilling: That is a yes. Michael Roberts: Yes. Q47 Graham Stringer: It would not be difficult to work out the average. Q54 Julian Sturdy: Do you think the UK is a soft Michael Roberts: Indeed. option for metal theft compared to other EU countries? Q48 Graham Stringer: Do you think you could Michael Roberts: I do not have a view on that. provide us with that information and also provide us Dyan Crowther: I think we are fairly consistent with with what the breakdown is between what the train Europe. I know that there has been some legislation operating companies get and what passengers get in change introduced in France and, indeed, Belgium terms of compensation? recently in response to the growing phenomena in Michael Roberts: We will endeavour to do that. The those countries around metal theft. They have amount that gets paid in compensation does depend followed a very similar path to our own. Indeed, we upon the passenger applying for that compensation. have regular dialogue with them in terms of the mitigation measures they have looked at, and they are Q49 Graham Stringer: Yes, but it would be now introducing some legislation changes around interesting to know what went to the train operating scrap metal yards. companies and what actually went to the passengers, because you made a strong point that reliability and Q55 Julian Sturdy: Is that legislation that you feel, punctuality are important, but when it goes wrong it within the evidence that you have put forward, you is also the case that financial compensation is would like to see happening in this country? important, is it not? Dyan Crowther: Yes. cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [O] Processed: [17-01-2012 10:40] Job: 016898 Unit: PG01 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/111108 - CTR - corrected - draft.xml

Transport Committee: Evidence Ev 7

8 November 2011 Dyan Crowther and Michael Roberts

Q56 Paul Maynard: I am sorry I was late. I was website, but, as I say, there can sometimes be a gap stuck on a train outside Waterloo, not because of cable in time before we can be clear and, even sometimes theft, as far as I am aware. I did not want to go into when we think we are clear, it may turn out that the anecdotal evidence, but I have been inspired to by Ms cause is something else. Hilling’s questions. I was stuck for an hour and a half at the Weaver junction three Thursdays ago on a Q60 Iain Stewart: I would like to follow up Mr Virgin intercity train because of cable theft, and, when Sturdy’s last question, looking at what is happening we eventually pulled into Preston shortly before 2 am, in Europe. I infer from your answer that cable theft is Virgin Trains had to lay on a fleet of taxis to transport as much a growing problem in other countries, and passengers to every relevant destination to which there you alluded to some legislative changes that they are were no more connections. They also had to lay on, I seeking there. In terms of technology and preventative think, a minibus. Can you confirm whether that measures, are there any lessons that we might be able expenditure by Virgin would have been covered by to learn in this country from what is happening in, the payments that they would have been able to claim say, France or Germany? for the fact of the cable theft? Dyan Crowther: Yes, and they also learn from us. Michael Roberts: I am not aware of how much There are various bodies in which we participate, and compensation they would have got and how much it is not just the rail industry. As I mentioned in an they would have spent on the items that you indicated, earlier reply, we work very closely with other but the compensation does help pay for those sorts of industries as well, such as the Energy Networks measures to ensure that customers get to where they Association and Openreach. We also share our need to get to in a reasonable amount of time and a problem with the supply chain. We have a number of reasonable degree of comfort. companies that come to us with their solutions and we have trialled a number of initiatives in the hope that Q57 Paul Maynard: I genuinely do not know the it will help us mitigate the problem. We are always answer to this, but is that level of service part of their open to new ideas. I addressed a European Safety and franchise agreement, or are they doing that over and Security Conference four weeks ago, and, again, that above what they have to do in order to protect their was good networking. Yes, we do share good practice. reputation, as you pointed out? We share pain as well, because this is not just a Michael Roberts: The details of each agreement are European issue; it is a global issue. different, but my instinct would be that that is not something that would have been specified in their Q61 Iain Stewart: But there is no one single success franchise agreement with the Department. The story that we could easily transplant here. It has to be decision to lay on taxis and minibuses would have looked at as a package of measures. been something that Virgin decided was the right thing Dyan Crowther: Yes. It is a system approach, and if to do for their customers. there was one thing we could do, believe me, I would have done it. Q58 Paul Maynard: With regard to the reputational issue, it was noticeable on the train that no one Q62 Chair: Do you anticipate that cable theft will explained that the delay for an hour and a half was disrupt travel to the Olympics? Do you think that is because of cable theft; yet, presumably, staff were going to be a big problem? aware of it. What problems are there in terms of train Dyan Crowther: In my earlier answer I referred to six companies ascribing a cause to cable theft promptly to eight incidents a day. I also referred to an increasing that would allow passengers to be better informed as trend. Yes, it is a risk. It is a risk to our network daily. to why things were occurring? Our role as an infrastructure provider is to make sure Michael Roberts: Inevitably, there will be a period of that we have adequate mitigation measures in place to time when, for example, a signalling failure occurs, manage that risk, and that is not just about cable theft; before it is clear what the cause of that is, whether it it is about any kind of infrastructure delay or any other is cable theft or anything else. In some cases it may type of delay that may affect the Olympics. Yes, we be more obvious than in others to identify whether are very alive to the fact that it is a risk, we are very cable theft has been the problem. It is genuinely a alive to the network impact and we are working very challenge to be able to communicate accurately and hard to make sure that we put the correct mitigation very quickly that the specific cause has arisen from measures in place. cable theft. Q63 Chair: Mr Roberts, do you want to add anything Q59 Chair: When we hear there is a signalling fault, to that? that could be cable theft. Michael Roberts: Just to say that during the course of Michael Roberts: It could be, but it is not the only the Olympics we expect to be laying on an extra 100 reason. One thing that we have increasingly been services a day to serve the demand for rail traffic to doing as an industry, and for which ATOC is Olympic sites. There will be certain stations which responsible, through the National Rail inquiries will particularly be the focus of that traffic. Stratford service, which provides both website-based as well station, for example, will see a 350% increase in as phone-based information to customers about their traffic. Our interest, as Ms Crowther said, is to ensure journeys, where we have reasonable understanding that, whatever the cause, the risk of disruption to that that cable theft is the cause of a problem, is to indicate service pattern is minimised. Indeed, there is an that. That is a service that we now provide on our enormous amount of preparation going on to ensure cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [E] Processed: [17-01-2012 10:40] Job: 016898 Unit: PG01 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/111108 - CTR - corrected - draft.xml

Ev 8 Transport Committee: Evidence

8 November 2011 Dyan Crowther and Michael Roberts that we run as smooth a service as we can during what Michael Roberts: My sense is that they have been will be an important event for the country as a whole. very active, together with the industry and, indeed, the Having said all that, the issue about potential BTP, who have been leading much of the work and to disruption from cable theft is a concern not just for whom we would like to offer our thanks for their the Olympics but also for any specific incident where support in leading not just the rail industry’s interest there is major rail-borne passenger traffic—major in this matter but, indeed, the cross-sectoral interest. sports days other than simply the Olympics, or, We are focused on the impact on our community, but indeed, bank holidays, whether it is the Christmas cable theft is something that affects other sectors and, bank holiday or at Easter. The Olympics certainly are indeed, other aspects of public life. a cause for us to continue focusing concern on addressing cable theft-related disruption, but we have Q65 Chair: Ms Crowther, do you want to add plenty of other reasons to ensure that we are doing anything? everything we can and that the public policy Dyan Crowther: No. I think Mr Roberts has covered framework is there as well to address this issue. anything I wanted to add. Chair: Thank you very much for coming and Q64 Chair: Should the Department for Transport be answering our questions. doing any more to help? Are they doing enough?

Examination of Witnesses

Witnesses: Ian Hetherington, Director General, British Metals Recycling Association, and Deputy Chief Constable Paul Crowther, British Transport Police, gave evidence.

Q66 Chair: Good morning, gentlemen, and welcome submission the graphs that show the almost startling to the Transport Committee. Could we have your correlation between the price of copper and the name and organisation, please, for our records? number of offences that are committed month on Ian Hetherington: My name is Ian Hetherington. I month. As the price goes up on the world market and am the Director General of the British Metals as it goes up on the chalkboard at the scrap metal Recycling Association. dealer, so crime goes up, with just about a one-month Paul Crowther: I am Paul Crowther. I am the Deputy lag. It is almost as if the criminals are looking at the Chief Constable of the British Transport Police, but I markets themselves. We have worked extensively with am also the Association of Chief Police Officers’ lead Mr Hetherington and his colleagues in the BMRA, for metal theft. and with the scrap metal industry more widely, but the conclusions that we have reached are that the vast Q67 Chair: Mr Crowther, how seriously do British majority of the stolen material has to find its way out Transport Police take metal theft? into the market through the scrap metal dealers. In a Paul Crowther: Very seriously indeed. I think I have large amount of cases that is unwitting and the been misquoted a number of times as saying that this majority of scrap metal dealers are keen to work with is the second most impactive issue affecting the us, but there is a significant element who are turning railways apart from terrorism, but that is not far off a blind eye or who are involved in criminality the scale of the issue. In terms of the day-to-day themselves. disruption it causes to services, which, of course, we The regulatory regime around scrap metal dealers is are interested in, it also causes us other problems in outdated. The main powers available to the police are terms of crime disorder issues that might occur at to be found in the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964. It stations where there are stranded passengers and irate really is Steptoe and Son legislation which has not passengers along the line. We take it very seriously kept pace with current methods. To give an example, indeed. It features very heavily in our policing plan there is a requirement in the Scrap Metal Dealers Act and strategic plan objectives. We have diverted very for identification details to be taken from someone significant resources to tackle this on a day-to-day who sells material to scrap metal dealers, but there is basis. There are about 110 officers full time working no requirement for any proof. In this day and age, on metal theft counter measures, and it occupies much where probably you cannot go to a tool hire shop of our waking time. without producing photographic ID or a utility bill, you can go to a scrap metal dealer and give a name Q68 Chair: Do you need any extra powers? and address and there is no means of checking Paul Crowther: I believe we do. Through my work whether or not that is true. Therefore, there is a major on the national stage I am aware of the massive fault in the legislation in that the traceability of the impacts that it is having, not just on the rail system individual is compromised, which means that the but also on the energy systems and telecoms, and the traceability of the material is compromised, and the very significant impacts it is having at individual incidence of cash in the process creates situations community and business level right across the where corrupt practices can take place. We think that country. From the work that we have been doing— at the moment the risk-to-reward balance is heavily in and I have been looking at this for about four years the favour of the criminal. The maximum fine under now—all routes lead us back to the market. It is a the Scrap Metal Dealers Act is £1,000 at level three very market-driven crime. You will have seen in my in the sentencing powers. The average fine dished out cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [O] Processed: [17-01-2012 10:40] Job: 016898 Unit: PG01 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/111108 - CTR - corrected - draft.xml

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8 November 2011 Ian Hetherington and Deputy Chief Constable Paul Crowther in 2010 was £379. With scrap copper trading at £5,000 epicentre of metal theft as far as the railway is a tonne, you can see that the balance is heavily in concerned. We believe that is to do with the traditions favour of those who might be skewed towards of heavy industry within that area, where people are criminality. used to dealing with metals and understand the values of them, potentially, although I do not think we have Q69 Chair: Mr Hetherington, is the metal recycling entirely got to the bottom of that. It varies on a industry itself culpable for what is happening? regional basis. BT telecoms, for example, have a Ian Hetherington: The metal recycling industry in the much greater incidence of theft in the south-east than UK is a £5 billion business. We process about 15 they do in the north-east. There are some regional million tonnes of secondary material a year. This is differences in the type of criminality and the activity, feedstock running into steelworks, metal works in the but we do see that the majority of the offenders are UK and around the world. We generate something in what I would call opportunist but none the less the region of £4 billion a year in export revenues. It professional criminals. In some studies about 80% of is by far the leading recycling industry in the UK, those arrested for metal theft have some previous and we in the UK are leading in a whole range of convictions for other acquisitive crime. If they are not technologies and technology developments which will burgling houses, stealing from vehicles or carrying out increase the value of the industry to the UK. Metal other street crime, they turn to this, I think because it theft is a major problem and we fully recognise this. is seen as a low-risk, high-return activity. They will, Paul and I have been working, largely together, for a therefore, take advantage of the opportunity that long time on this now, and our messages today will presents itself, which might be on the basis of probably in many places converge. geography and accessibility, or, if we put in place Is the industry culpable? Without doubt, the measures to counter a particular hot spot area, they industry—and I am talking here of the legitimate, will move into another commodity, like catalytic regulated, legal industry—will at some point in the converters and the materials contained within those. It supply chain probably receive some stolen material. is a very flexible crime group that is involved in this. The amount stolen may seem large, but we are talking of about 15,000 tonnes a year. You will please excuse Q71 Iain Stewart: From your British Transport me. I understand your interests are transport, but that Police perspective, how do you work with other police number comes from the totality of thefts across forces to share information and prevent thefts utilities and, of course, across our own members, who, happening? in terms of tonnage, are the largest victims of metal Paul Crowther: I chair the ACPO Metal Theft theft. That 15,000 tonnes has to be seen in the light Working Group. Within that group not only do we of 15 million tonnes of material processed. have the various utilities, industries and Government Going back to my point, yes, at some point in the Departments which are affected, but we also have supply chain I am sure that some in the legitimate regional representatives of the various police forces industry are unknowingly processing material that was around the country, each of which has its own metal originally stolen. The illegal supply chain here is quite theft initiatives. There is an enormous amount of long and is evidently very complex. Mr Crowther will police resource being diverted into tackling this crime, have a better understanding of that than I, but this because in some forces it accounts for 10% of all material appears to go through many hands. By the recorded crime at the moment. We work very closely time we see it in the legitimate trade it becomes very with other forces, both locally through neighbourhood difficult to identify. In general terms, I would say that policing teams, and, indeed, on big set-piece national it is not in the interests of the legitimate trade to be events, like the one we did the Friday before last, knowingly handling stolen goods. The risks are too where we had something like 27 England and Wales high, and risk to reputation—and this is an industry forces and eight Scottish forces working with 450 that relies heavily on reputation—is too great. The BTP officers, carrying out a day of action, as well as answer is, knowingly, no, but, unknowingly, international days of action with our colleagues from probably yes. railway policing organisations across Europe.

Q70 Iain Stewart: You have both mentioned that this Q72 Paul Maynard: I noticed with interest in the is a much broader issue than theft of railway cabling, BMRA’s evidence that there was a reference to affecting utility companies, thefts from church roofs, “persistently high levels of theft and low rates of from war memorials, all these sorts of things, but, successful prosecution”. What hurdles do you find in with our focus on transport, is transport just one terms of detection, bringing a prosecution, and, example of a broader problem, or are there specific indeed, drawing a conviction? I know this is a difficult issues in the types of theft? Is railway theft more question to answer, but what are the typical sentences opportunistic or organised than the other areas? that someone convicted of metal theft might face? Paul Crowther: I think the railway presents a number Paul Crowther: The challenges are many and varied, of remote targets, which means that the material can depending on the circumstances. When we talk about be accessed at times relatively unseen, which creates the spread of what are largely opportunist thieves, the greater opportunities. In that respect I guess it presents first problem is catching them. The remote locations a particular target for criminals. I listened to the of some of these thefts poses a problem. You heard debate earlier about whether this is focused in earlier that we are using technology—cameras, particular regions. It certainly is. The north- east area trembler devices, etc.—to catch them in the first place. of BTP jurisdiction seems to be, for some reason, the In terms of prosecuting people, when we discover cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [E] Processed: [17-01-2012 10:40] Job: 016898 Unit: PG01 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/111108 - CTR - corrected - draft.xml

Ev 10 Transport Committee: Evidence

8 November 2011 Ian Hetherington and Deputy Chief Constable Paul Crowther material in scrap metal dealers—and I have to say it nationally, and we are working with the BTP in the is pretty widespread—which is marked as BT cable or north-east now to trial that with three forces there. We Network Rail cable, not all of which can have found believe that the regulations need to be tightened, but its way into the supply chain unwittingly, I would say, what we have said throughout is that, whatever the our difficulty then is proving where that material came tightening of regulations is, if that is not preceded by from. You cannot secure a charge for theft or handling a fairly radical change in enforcement practice, then, unless you can prove the original theft. Although we frankly, if existing law cannot be enforced, then new may have a piece of cable marked “Network Rail”, law would be enforced no better. That is our position. unless we can show where that came from and that it This is not to resist any regulatory change. It is to say did not get into the supply chain through a legitimate that, hand in hand with that, we need to see some route, through contractors disposing of redundant radical changes in enforcement practice. cable, for example, then it can be almost impossible to gain a charge. Q74 Chair: How can the 2010 metal recycling code In terms of sentencing, I think we have made some of practice be enforced better? Is one of the problems strides on that. We have engaged with criminal justice that it is not being enforced? partners to raise their awareness of the impacts. We Ian Hetherington: This, in a sense, is back to the now include in every prosecution file an impact issue of enforcement. The code of practice was an statement that sets out just how impactive this is on attempt by ourselves and the ACPO working group to Network Rail and the running of the railway or other come up with a set of identity measures. The utilities. We have seen in some cases, but not all, an identification of the seller is the king here. That is increase in the level of sentences that are what we are all aiming to achieve. If we can identify administered. It is not unusual, where we can prove the seller with a degree of certainty, it becomes easier substantial impact, for example, where a town has had and more feasible to track back to the original theft its power knocked out, that someone might receive and also to secure a prosecution, which is what we four years’ imprisonment, but that is not the norm. all want. Often it can be a relatively small length of cable that The code of practice was an attempt to introduce a might be worth £40 or £50 but has had a massive national code by which our members could abide, and impact, but the sentence does not reflect the impact. all police forces in the UK, we had hoped, would also step into line on this. I would not stand in the way of Q73 Paul Maynard: Mr Hetherington, when I was local policing, but it does produce a proliferation of reading all the submitted evidence last night, the very well-meaning and relatively short-lived local BMRA evidence leapt out at me because it seemed to policing initiatives. These are happening in virtually be the only one that did not look to expand the scope every force in the UK. Our members are subject to a of the 1964 Scrap Metal Dealers Act. You seem quite different set of criteria set out by the police this week reluctant to move to a cashless system, for example. I in Manchester and parts of Lancashire than they are took your point that you did not wish to see greater in Kent or in Norfolk, where there is a different set of regulation on licensed scrap metal dealers while the measures being proposed. It is a very disjointed number of unlicensed, unregulated scrap metal dealers picture in terms of policing, for reasons I understand, was not being controlled. But, as someone who does and the code of practice, although it has provided the not know a great deal about scrap metal dealing, and basis for some thinking with BTP and others I confess that, could you give me some indication of nationally, is still the victim of fragmentation. the size and scale of the unregulated, unlicensed scrap metal dealing industry? How widespread is it? Q75 Chair: Mr Crowther, do you want to comment Ian Hetherington: It is very difficult to be precise, as on this issue? you will imagine, about the size of the illegal market. Paul Crowther: If I may, Chair. Mr Hetherington and It is pretty clear and I think there is a degree of I discuss this quite regularly, so you will not be consensus between the police and the Environment surprised that I disagree with some of his points. On Agency, for example. The Environment Agency the enforcement front, it is patchy simply because it currently has a file of 170 sites which are known to is ineffective. Police forces around the country are be operating illegally. That, we would suggest, is the trying to find ways to squeeze the market for stolen tip of the iceberg. I would suggest that the size of the goods. The Scrap Metal Dealers Act provides very illegal trade, in terms of numbers of sites, is possibly few powers. It only applies to those scrap metal as large as the legal trade, and there are 900 permitted dealers which have registered in the first place. If you legitimate licensed sites in the UK. There are others do not register, the police have no powers to enter a which are doing different things, but it is broadly that scrap metal dealer site unless they have a warrant, number. But we suspect the illegal, unregulated sector, which is a bizarre situation that we find ourselves in. in numerical terms, to be somewhat of a similar size. The fundamental issue is that there are no closure If we suggested in our evidence that we did not think powers to deal with those who continually flout the there needed to be some regulatory reform, I apologise law. That acts as a disincentive to those within the for that. It was brevity, possibly, that was the enemy industry who want to work with us, because they say, of the fact. We fervently believe that the existing “If we comply and we implement these measures, regulations need to be reformed. I would like to see a what about the guy round the corner, who is accepting dismantling of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act and those everything coming through the door and is taking powers vested elsewhere. We would like to see the market share away from us?” I am not sure I can go powers for identification, for example, embedded with that logic, but we do know that the attempts at cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [O] Processed: [17-01-2012 10:40] Job: 016898 Unit: PG01 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/111108 - CTR - corrected - draft.xml

Transport Committee: Evidence Ev 11

8 November 2011 Ian Hetherington and Deputy Chief Constable Paul Crowther voluntary measures, however well meaning, simply do going on all over the country. The sheer logistics of not work. disposing of that material and ordering material to be I met with the managing directors of five of the largest installed are themselves huge. We have spoken a scrap metal dealers in the country, together with number of times to Network Rail and there are some colleagues from the Home Office and the Serious and improvements in adjusting the time ordering process Organised Crime Agency, and we urged them to take so that you do not have huge reels of cable that turn a leadership role to implement voluntary measures up line-side and you get the insider who can then tell requiring identification documents at their sites and people who come along and steal it. There is more then to impose that on the tier two and tier three layers that could be done, but there is work being conducted below them, and eventually drive through a different in that area. level of behaviour within the industry. That offer was declined because of the impact on business. I think Q78 Julie Hilling: Mr Hetherington, you talked one of the most telling points that was made at that about theft from your members. Is this about stuff that meeting was that, in a pilot that one of the large has gone out the back of a lot and somebody coming dealers conducted with the local police in which they round to the front of somebody else’s lot, saying, did impose identification measures, overnight they “Buy my goods”? Is that the circle? “lost” 50% of the cash trade. That says an enormous Ian Hetherington: Yes. These stories do go round, thing to me about what that cash trade is. Probably the although probably the more prevalent event is where startling thing is that those measures were withdrawn you have large consignments of valuable material because of the impact on business. Until there is a full which have been pre-processed, are essentially ready set of powers which enable us to support those who for shipment to the customer and are then being want to do something different, I do not think we are stolen. These represent very high value thefts and are going to change the nature of this business. frequently on an organised basis. They are slightly different from the standard thefts from Network Rail. Q76 Julie Hilling: Mr Hetherington talked before Possibly I could come back to add something to what about this long supply chain and I am just wondering Mr Crowther said in terms of practices observed by if you could describe the journey of a piece of cable those organisations that are selling large quantities of stolen. Where does it go on that journey? scrap material, and cable in particular. We would Paul Crowther: I mentioned different tiers of metal always point to the work that BT have done as an recyclers. I think it is something that we have devised exemplar in terms of closing down their disposal ourselves to describe it, but at tier one we describe practices so that it becomes relatively easy now, if what might be the back street, local scrap metal dealer, cable is delivered into a yard, for one of our members small site, perhaps even an itinerant collector. At tier to be relatively certain that it meets the specifications. two is a more substantial business, and at tier three They all have a copy of it, set out by BT, and, if it are the much larger recyclers, some of whom are does not come with an authorisation code, the chances multinationals, but tiers one, two and three all trade are that it is stolen, and that will mean a phone call among each other. Someone who has some scrap to the police. I recognise the structural problems of metal or some stolen metal to dispose of could go into Network Rail, but there has to be an accelerated any one of those tiers. Once it gets into the system, it recognition that, until their disposal routes are effectively becomes laundered as it goes into the next tier of the system. It could go in wittingly or tightened up, this will continue to be a problem. unwittingly at tier one and then is sold on as part of a If you will indulge me for a second, if I am a metal much larger batch to a tier two or tier three supplier. recycler and a contractor arrives on my weighbridge, It may then become part of a huge container load of and in amongst a load of other material he has some other material which is legitimate, which makes it Network Rail cable, at the moment it is very difficult difficult for someone to spot it in the first place, but, for me, as the scrap metal yard operator, to establish once it is there, it is legitimised and ends up in a whether John Smith and Co have a genuine title to container that usually ends up in China. You can see that material, which they may well do, or not. If it is that, unless you can tackle it at that very first BT cable or beer kegs, for example, there is a single introduction into the supply chain, it quickly becomes telephone number they can phone and establish the unidentifiable and unprovable as stolen material. bona fides of that material and the title to it. We would always make a plea to all utility companies and Q77 Julie Hilling: Is there then an issue about the anybody else disposing of large quantities of this way that Network Rail or contractors or BT are material, “Please make our job a little easier and disposing of cable in the first place? You said a dealer tighten up your disposal routes”, because that is an would not necessarily know whether it was legitimate issue when you have loose material around. There are or not. Is there something that could be done there? vast quantities of Network Rail cable out there being Paul Crowther: There is work ongoing on that front. legitimately scrapped and it is difficult to differentiate British Telecom probably provide good practice in this those from the illegitimate. It is difficult for the police; regard. They have a single outlet through which they it is difficult for our members. dispose of all their redundant material and order all their cable. I think that is a model that could be Q79 Julie Hilling: You hear of lead being stolen followed elsewhere, and I know that is being looked from people’s porches. Surely, there is something in at. But, of course, it is a huge network, if we talk terms of scrap metal dealers where Johnny comes about the rail system, and there are replacement works along with a lump of cabling or a lump of lead or a cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [E] Processed: [17-01-2012 10:40] Job: 016898 Unit: PG01 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/111108 - CTR - corrected - draft.xml

Ev 12 Transport Committee: Evidence

8 November 2011 Ian Hetherington and Deputy Chief Constable Paul Crowther lump of something else that should raise all sorts of and the weekly data we get from France shows that alarm bells. Is that not happening? there has been a 30% drop in the legitimate sale of Paul Crowther: I think you have hit on a very recyclable metal across France arising from that. We important point. I would acknowledge that there are will continue to track this over a period of time, as we significant parts of the industry that want to work with are doing in various states of the US, where they have us and put this right, but when you see the media trialled this. That is the reason for it. While the reports on a day-to-day basis of plaques stolen from legitimate material is siphoned off into the illegal crematoriums, whole bus stops being stolen across trade, a ban on cash will only serve to enhance the London, 30 manhole covers at a time being stolen illegal trade, reduce levels of recycling and everything from the streets and the surrounds from someone’s else that will go with that. porch, that is being disposed of through somewhere. When someone turns up with a flat-back lorry with Q82 Julian Sturdy: Does not what has happened in that on it and they are not from TfL or the local France, though, highlight the problems within the authority, there must be questions asked about that. I industry and the illegal trade that is already going on do not think enough questions are being asked there? Surely, if we move to cashless payments because of the amount of this material that we see alongside other measures, like closure powers, etc., going through. People must know it is not legitimate that would bring the industry in line? There are in a lot of cases. legitimate arguments to say that there would be a 12- month period that might be quite difficult, but, if all Q80 Julian Sturdy: Mr Hetherington, can I follow these powers were brought together in one block and on from Mr Maynard’s questions and something Mr it brought the industry back into line, surely that Crowther has mentioned also, because I am not sure would be a better way forward and cashless payments we have quite got to the bottom of this? Does your would fit in with that process. industry support a move to cashless payments, and, Ian Hetherington: All a ban on cash will do is also, do you support closure powers similar to what enhance the identification of seller, because you will Mr Crowther mentioned and similar to the alcohol have a financial audit route through a cheque system licensing powers that are there at the moment? or a bank account system. This is all about identifying Ian Hetherington: If I can take the second point first, the seller. We would welcome a statutory tightening as long as any powers of closure are secured through of the identification processes, for example, which we the judicial system we would support them. We believe would achieve the same objective, albeit with believe anybody operating outside the law should be some losses, but we need to see the powers of closed down, and quickly. enforcement and a reform of enforcement in place first. You talk about a loss of business. For a small or Q81 Chair: But do you want more powers to be put medium-sized business to lose 30% or 40% of their in the law? trade would mean closure and business failure. This Ian Hetherington: Yes. We do not want voluntary is a substantial industry. That is a very high-risk route agreements. We want enforceable, tight, sensible laws, to go down when there is absolutely no evidence that but they need to be tight and they need to be sensible. a cash ban will inhibit crime. Nobody has yet Yes, we would like to see those powers. It is truly produced any evidence to us that anywhere where bizarre to find that the police cannot, as of right, enter there has been a ban on the use of cash there has been a yard that is operating illegally in this trade. That is a substantial decrease in the rate of metal theft. madness. No, we would be wholly supportive of that. If we move to the question of cash, the reason we Q83 Julian Sturdy: On a slightly different tack, Mr have a very strong resistance to the banning of cash Hetherington, you mentioned tightening up the is not because the industry is wedded to cash. If I am disposal procedures. If companies like Network Rail being blunt about it, the handling of the amounts of and BT—and some might do this already, so apologies cash we are talking about is a liability for any if they do—had an approved list of scrap metal dealers business. Our customers are wedded to cash and many that they will send their products to, would that not of them are wedded to cash for very legitimate make it easier to track the process? reasons. It is not because they are handling stolen Ian Hetherington: Absolutely. material, but they have traditionally conducted their business in cash, and many small businesses across Q84 Julian Sturdy: Does that happen already? Is the UK continue to conduct their business in cash there an element of that happening already? because they are suspicious of the banks, possibly for Ian Hetherington: There is an element of that good reason, or they have some other motivation for happening already, but it is not tight enough, and I doing it; their staff are paid in cash, possibly. There recognise the reasons why. Some of this is historical. are motivations I cannot deduce, but a very large Network Rail have traditionally disposed of their rail number of our customers want to be paid in cash for in a very orderly manner. It is very well organised and the material they sell on a day-to-day basis. always has been. I understand, historically, the minor Notwithstanding that, if we were to see a ban on cash, works and cable-related work has been on a different the legitimate trade would abide by it immediately and basis. Yes, we would like to see a much tighter we would see legitimate business—nobody wants disposal route, with much clearer means by which title stolen material—siphoning off into the illegal trade at can be established for contractors. It builds on the a stupendous rate of knots. There was the introduction point that Mr Crowther just made, that when TfL of a universal cash ban in the last budget in France, renews some bus stops in London it is not a nice, neat, cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [O] Processed: [17-01-2012 10:40] Job: 016898 Unit: PG01 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/111108 - CTR - corrected - draft.xml

Transport Committee: Evidence Ev 13

8 November 2011 Ian Hetherington and Deputy Chief Constable Paul Crowther clean TfL van that brings the old bus shelter in for approach we take, which is enforcement and, “Can we disposal; it is a contractor. When you just allow any close you down, please, if you are not going to comply old local contractor to take material away and dispose with the law?” We do lots of joint operations with of it, it is very difficult. There are lots of legitimately them, but we have two distinct roles which can be disposed of bus shelters that appear every year. We complementary but are clearly distinct. would like to establish the legitimate ownership of those when they arrive at the yard, and it is difficult Q88 Jim Dobbin: Are you able to do spot checks to do. Your suggestion is precisely our suggestion. without any warning? Paul Crowther: On a registered scrap metal dealer Q85 Jim Dobbin: Mr Hetherington, you have we can. answered a substantial question I was going to ask in responding to a question from Mr Sturdy, but I have Q89 Jim Dobbin: Just on the registered ones. a couple of small points for my own clarification. Paul Crowther: Just on the registered ones. What is the density of the size of the unregistered sites in comparison to the registered sites? Is it large or is it small? Q90 Jim Dobbin: You are not allowed to do that on Ian Hetherington: There is a tendency for them to be a site that is just there and you know it is— small. They tend to be fairly ephemeral, in many Paul Crowther: No. cases; I recognise that, although that is not universally Jim Dobbin: That is interesting. the case. The Environment Agency had a great success working with the police. They closed down a Q91 Chair: Mr Crowther, you have told us how yard which was quite substantial. There were prison extensive metal theft is. Is it included in the organised sentences for the three principals. They invoked the crime strategy? Proceeds of Crime Act. This was commendable stuff. Paul Crowther: It is. It has recently been included in Unfortunately, the site had been operating, to our the re-published strategy. knowledge, for 15 years. It was a great success, a bit too late, I think I could say, but that is an exception. Q92 Chair: Will that make a difference? They will tend to be small and they will tend to be, Paul Crowther: It will make some difference. as I say, ephemeral. Unfortunately, probably only about 30% maximum involves organised crime. The vast majority of Q86 Jim Dobbin: Have you any idea how many of offenders are local offenders. They are on the radar of these small sites there are? the police and other agencies within their locality but Ian Hetherington: I do not think the police can tell they are not organised criminal groups. We work us and I do not think the Environment Agency can closely with SOCA and regional intelligence units, tell us. and we have gone through an exercise which is called Paul Crowther: There are two schemes or pieces of organised crime group mapping. From that, we can legislation involved here. The Scrap Metal Dealers identify which organised criminal groups that have Act requires you to be registered with the local already been identified by the police service are also authority. There is no incentive for local authorities to involved in metal theft. We think there are about 119 carry that out. There is no fee. You cannot revoke it. of those across the country, some of which are Once it is granted, it lasts for three years. Records dormant on metal theft and active in other areas. We across the country for registered and unregistered are looking at how we can disrupt those groups, and scrap metal dealers are very poor. We frequently go that is where the organised crime strategy will help, round to visit locations we think are scrap metal but it does not help on the majority of the offenders dealers, only to find that they disappeared some time ago, and we find lots of scrap metal dealers that the in this category. local authority does not know about. There is a separate regime under the Environmental Protection Q93 Chair: Do you think cable theft will undermine Act through the Environment Agency where a scrap transport for the Olympics? Do you see a big problem metal dealer has to be permitted or exempted under coming there? those regulations. I think at the moment the Paul Crowther: I think I agree with the evidence you Environment Agency are talking in terms of 120 un- heard earlier. It is clearly a risk. It has been identified permitted or exempted sites that they are aware of, but within the strategic threat assessment, as have a there are two different schemes here, and, to be frank, number of other disruption implications for the I do not think anybody knows exactly how many of Olympics. There is work ongoing with Network Rail these sites there are. and the operators to identify high-impact or high-risk locations, which may be some distance away from the Q87 Jim Dobbin: How closely do you work with the Olympic sites but where most disruption would occur Environment Agency on these issues? if a metal theft were to take place, or, indeed, a suicide Paul Crowther: We work pretty closely with the or fatality. From that, we are able to take mitigation Environment Agency. They clearly have a different measures, but, of course, time is marching on and role, and the approach to enforcement the some of those measures will be engineering or Environment Agency take on environmental issues is environmental measures that need to be put in place, one of nurturing and encouraging industries to comply like fencing, etc., but it is very much on people’s with environmental legislation, which is not the same radar. cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [E] Processed: [17-01-2012 10:40] Job: 016898 Unit: PG01 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/111108 - CTR - corrected - draft.xml

Ev 14 Transport Committee: Evidence

8 November 2011 Ian Hetherington and Deputy Chief Constable Paul Crowther

Q94 Chair: Is there any final message you would person to be a scrap metal dealer, but once they are like to give us for Government or any other agencies licensed they have to comply with a general condition on how to deal with this issue? of applying a bit of due diligence about what they Paul Crowther: If I may. I listened with interest to receive, and also taking proper identification. Mr Hetherington’s point about the proportionality of Thereafter, there is an incremental layer of measures legislation, and I do think there is a way that new that could be brought to bear for those who act outside legislation or regulation could be applied of the law or support metal theft. That could include proportionately so that it mitigates the impact on imposing a cashless model and a requirement to keep legitimate business. Through my working group, we metal in the form in which it is received for 96 hours, have put forward to the Home Office some and, indeed, closure powers. I think there is a way of suggestions about what the legislation might look like. meeting all the requirements around greater At its lowest level, for the law-abiding scrap metal enforcement and regulation but taking account of the community, it would be that they take part in a impact on legitimate business. licensing scheme. At first licensing there is an Chair: Thank you very much. Thank you to both of opportunity to review whether they are a fit and proper you for coming and answering our questions. cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [SO] Processed: [17-01-2012 10:40] Job: 016898 Unit: PG02 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/29 November 11 corrected.xml

Transport Committee: Evidence Ev 15

Tuesday 29 November 2011

Members present: Mrs Louise Ellman (Chair)

Jim Dobbin Iain Stewart Julie Hilling Graham Stringer Paul Maynard Julian Sturdy ______

Examination of Witness

Witness: Norman Baker MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport, gave evidence.

Q95 Chair: Good morning, Minister. Welcome to the Q96 Chair: What is the Department is doing to Transport Committee. At our earlier session on cable address this very serious issue? theft on the railway we heard what a mounting Norman Baker: It is doing a number of things. First, problem this is and that last year alone over 3.8 I pushed for, and we now have, this cross-ministerial million passenger journeys had been delayed or group, which has met twice. It involves Ministers cancelled as well as there being similar problems in from all relevant Departments, including the Home relation to freight. Network Rail told us that in the Office, which has the lead for legislation, if any past three years the cost of cable theft on the railway occurs, DECC, the Treasury, BIS, and others, coming amounted to £43 million directly, plus £16 million to together to look, first, at what existing powers we have £20 million per annum on its impact on the economy across Departments to take action to deal with this as a whole. This is a major problem in terms of invidious problem; secondly, to see what might be finance and efficiency of the railways. We are very done quickly, for example, by issuing new guidance interested to hear what you can tell us about how the to the Environment Agency or something of that Government are addressing this. I understand that you nature in terms of looking at scrap yards; and, thirdly, want to make an initial statement. So I am pleased to to see whether any further steps are necessary which invite you to do that. are slightly more medium term in regard to legislation Norman Baker: Thank you very much. I will be that might be required to strengthen the case against reasonably brief. I am very pleased that you and your those who steal metal. That is one aspect of what we Committee have decided to look into this matter. It are doing. has been an issue for some time and the industry A second aspect is working closely with the train initially took the view that it was best kept quiet so as companies and Network Rail. I see them on a regular not to encourage copycat activities. But the scale of basis and this topic is always on the agenda. It is the problem is now so large that the industry has useful to get feedback from them on the extent of the indicated that it wants to draw attention to it as much problem, but it is also useful to look at what they can as it can in order to try to secure, first, public do to minimise the problem so far as possible. For understanding and, secondly, ministerial buy-in for example, Network Rail are now looking at burying any actions that it may be possible to take. cables in particularly vulnerable areas. They are It is quite clear to me that the impact of this is very looking at making sure that cables are properly serious for rail passengers, business and the industry marked so that they are easier to identify if they turn itself, but it is a problem that transcends the railways. up in scrap yards. Those types of things can be done. It has affected the highways—there was an incident We also want to look at the impact on the passenger. whereby we could not open a hard shoulder on one I have been encouraging Network Rail and others to particular motorway because of cable theft. It has also try to make sure that, when an incident does occur, affected the Coastguard Service. Beyond the the railways are as resilient as possible and able to Department for Transport, it has also affected the recover the timetable as quickly as possible, rather telecoms industry and the energy networks very than having a great deal of downtime with significantly. So this is a major problem. considerable inconvenience. One of the interesting facts is how the level of cable Thirdly, we are also dealing with British Transport theft follows a very close pattern of the price of Police to ensure that they are fully engaged—and they copper and other metals on the world market. There are doing a good job on this, as a matter of fact. They is a very close correlation between the world price have the task of making sure, first, that they devote and the amount of theft that goes on. Clearly, there is sufficient resources to tackling metal theft, and they quite a sensitive theft market, if I can put it in that regard it as second only to terrorism on their list of way. We want to do what we can to get on top of it priorities at the moment. Secondly, when metal theft across Government. No doubt you will want to come does occur, it is important that, in their investigations, on to what we are doing about that. I will not give they also help us get the railway back to normal as you any more figures, except to say that I am seized of soon as possible, rather than having it shut for ages. the fact that this is a serious problem. It is something I raise regularly with the rail industry in discussions Q97 Chair: Have British Transport Police told you with them, BTP and other Ministers. that they need new powers? cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [E] Processed: [17-01-2012 10:40] Job: 016898 Unit: PG02 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/29 November 11 corrected.xml

Ev 16 Transport Committee: Evidence

29 November 2011 Norman Baker MP

Norman Baker: They have indicated that it would be terms of penalties, that is something which the Home helpful for them to have new powers. There is a Office is looking at, though my honest belief is that general concern, which I am very happy to share, that the most significant way of dealing with this issue is the legislation which is in place is not designed for to shut down the supply chain rather than trying to the current spate of thefts that we are seeing. It has catch people afterwards and penalise them. There is a been suggested by different bodies, including British disincentive to steal if an outlet cannot be found, and Transport Police, that we ought to look at the Scrap we should concentrate on that. Metal Dealers Act 1964 and consider whether it needs upgrading. We are looking at that, and no option is Q100 Jim Dobbin: We have talked about the duties off the table. But you will appreciate that that is not of British Transport Police and other police immediate, and it is important that we do not put all authorities. Do you think that Network Rail and the our focus on that and that we take steps to do what train operators are doing enough to combat this we can immediately rather than waiting for that matter problem? to be looked at in some detail. Norman Baker: There is only so much they can do, to be honest with you. First, the duty of Network Rail Q98 Iain Stewart: Minister, to follow on the point is to make sure that they look after their copper. Some about the British Transport Police, you have correctly thefts have occurred both in Network Rail and TfL identified that this is a problem much wider than the when copper is in storage, suggesting that it is an railways. Are you satisfied that British Transport inside job. So there is an issue about where copper is Police have the ability and resources to collaborate stored. That does not affect the railways in terms of with other police authorities that might be operation, but it affects the economics of Network investigating thefts from other sources? Rail and it can also delay improvement works. So that Norman Baker: Yes. British Transport Police are is important. approaching this in a very sensible and helpful way. Secondly, Network Rail has to make sure that cables They are devoting a lot of resources to it. They are are hidden away where that is appropriate. You cannot visiting scrap yards and so on and they are taking hide the whole network across the country, but you steps to minimise the amount of time that the railway can pick on particular areas where there is a problem. is closed. I am happy with what they are doing within The north east has a particular problem with cable the powers and the law they have to work with. theft. This problem applies to suicides on the railways as Thirdly, you can make sure that your cable is properly well as metal theft where other land-based forces— marked and, therefore, easily identifiable. Network not British Transport Police—become involved, Rail also make sure that they dispose of their cable to because they understand the railways perhaps less approved scrap yards, so, if it appears somewhere than British Transport Police and their response is not else, we know that a problem has occurred. They are as slick and organised as it might be with British doing that and they are on the case quite significantly. Transport Police. So I have encouraged British As far as the train companies are concerned, they have Transport Police, and, indeed, the Home Office, to no locus in terms of cable theft per se, but their job is make sure that there is sufficient knowledge in other to make sure that the network is as resilient as possible police forces when they attend a particular incident. and that they get services back as soon as possible in British Transport Police are the lead police authority conjunction with Network Rail. Last year one incident in ACPO for this issue. I am hopeful that that has now occurred, which was caused by cable theft, when a been taken on board and good practice is being spread number of trains, effectively disappeared into the ether to other forces. because Network Rail did not really know where they were on the South West network, and the train Q99 Iain Stewart: One suggestion that has been companies did not have proper communications made is that there should be a new offence of between their headquarters and the trains. So there aggravated trespass. Is that something that you or the was insufficient collection of information about that Government as a whole have considered? incident, which both delayed the opportunity to get Norman Baker: As I have said, no option is off the the railway back to normal and failed to keep the table. In terms of the cross-ministerial meeting, we passengers informed as to what was happening. That have looked at what we can do immediately. For is where the train companies come in. They have to example, is HMRC paying enough attention to scrap make sure that they are able to deal with an incident yards? That is one example. How are we linking in as quickly as possible rather than do anything very with our security services, because this is an much to prevent it. international crime in some ways? Those things we are looking at right away. Can we have new guidance Q101 Jim Dobbin: Just to follow that through, as notes as a next stage for, say, the Environment you indicated earlier, metal theft is taking place Agency? But, yes, we are looking at what might be everywhere at the present time, particular among the done in existing legislation to try to improve matters. utilities. From a previous session, we understand that Aggravated theft is an option. In fact, the previous British Telecom has some good practices. Do you Transport Secretary suggested we might look at that. think the Department has done enough to learn from That is being considered. the way that utilities are performing? The Home Office, as you will appreciate, is the lead Norman Baker: We are sharing information across Department for that sort of matter rather than the Departments. There is a genuinely cross-departmental Department for Transport. As to what we might do in approach to this, and I think that is exactly the right cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [O] Processed: [17-01-2012 10:41] Job: 016898 Unit: PG02 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/29 November 11 corrected.xml

Transport Committee: Evidence Ev 17

29 November 2011 Norman Baker MP way to go about it. It has involved several Graham Stringer: More of them, then. Departments, as I have said, including the Treasury. Norman Baker: And they prosecute them. We have You will appreciate that I am limited in what I can not ruled out, by any means, dealing with that Act. I say, but you may want to hear the Chancellor’s agree with you. You called it “useless”. I would say it Statement later today. is not particularly robust legislation. It has three main requirements. First, a dealer must be registered by a Q102 Graham Stringer: We have had the press local authority. That is useful as far as it goes, but releases already so it is a bit of a redundant process. that’s about it. Secondly, a dealer must keep accurate Norman Baker: You might have seen the press recordings of dealings. We can all have a view on how release, Graham, but I am not allowed to refer to these accurate those are. Thirdly, a dealer must not acquire things until much nearer the time. Yes, we are taking scrap metal from a person under the age of 16. That a cross-departmental approach and it is now perfectly is just about it. Of course, police can enter anywhere clear that there is a very serious impact on business. with a warrant, but I agree with you that the automatic It means that the natural inhibition of the Government right of entry is limited. to take action legislatively is likely to be overcome The other problem is that we do not know how many because the consequences of doing nothing are very scrap yards exist. This is information held by local serious. authorities and it is not collected centrally. So it is difficult even to get a handle on what is happening out Q103 Graham Stringer: I agree with you that the there. It is complicated by the fact that scrap dealers consequences of doing nothing are very serious, but themselves are subject to theft. It is important to make would you like to reconsider your attitude toward the point that people steal from them. There have been reforming the 1964 Scrap Metal Dealers Act, because a number of such incidents. With regard to the way that is something that can be done immediately? There the trade operates, as I understand it, it is quite is lots of space in the House of Commons’ schedule common—it is like a pyramid—for a trader to trade at the moment. Do you not think that the Government up and sell on to the next dealer. It is quite difficult to should look more quickly and in a more focused way keep track of where things have come from. I agree at that Act? with you that the system, given the amount of cable Norman Baker: Let me be quite clear. That has not theft we have, is not particularly robust. been ruled out in any shape or form. As I say, we are looking at a number of options across Departments as Q106 Graham Stringer: After the last evidence to what might be done. There is no one simple answer. session, a member of the Committee was written to A whole series of things could be done, and that is and the writer estimated that Network Rail might have certainly one of the options that we are looking at. I £4 billion worth of copper cabling, which would be would not want to rule that out. But I do not want to sufficient to fund a completely different and more put all our eggs into one basket and say, “That’s going secure system. Do the Government have any to cure things”, because many other things need to be knowledge of whether Network Rail could self- done as well and we must not be diverted from that. finance a new secure system? Secondly—this is quite an important point—we have Norman Baker: I am not quite sure what the secure to make sure that we do not simply move the problem. system would be because we and the police have to Part of what we are doing, if we did take action on operate within the laws currently on the statute book. the 1964 Act, is to look at what the criminal would As you have heard, and, indeed, you have probably do. Where would the criminal take his copper? We concluded yourselves, some people are unhappy and have to examine that issue. We do not simply want to believe that the existing legislation is not adequate. move the problem. That is part of the analysis of what Network Rail have to operate within the law as it we are doing. stands. The question is what more they can sensibly do than they are already doing. They are, for example, Q104 Graham Stringer: As I understand the Act, it paying for extra British Transport Police, which they is pretty useless and could be reformed immediately. do not have to do. So they are making that It would not be a panacea, but the fact, as I understand contribution to try and help out. The cost to Network it—and you can confirm this point, hopefully—is that Rail for 2010 to 2011 is £16.5 million, of which £12 police officers do not have the right of entry into scrap million is compensation to train companies. metal dealers if those people have not registered. If they are registered, police officers have the right. It is Q107 Graham Stringer: On that final point about a voluntary scheme, so dodgier scrap metal dealers compensation, I am not sure what the Government’s would not register. That would be of immediate role is in the compensation schemes. Are the rules benefit. laid down by Government or are they just commercial Norman Baker: Yes. agreements between Network Rail and the train operating companies? Q105 Graham Stringer: Secondly, it is a cash Norman Baker: I stand to be corrected, but I think business and there is no easy way to follow the trail they are handled by the Office of Rail Regulation, of who is selling. It would not cure the situation which sets the rules on that. overnight, but it would at least give the police the opportunity to catch some of these people. Q108 Graham Stringer: When we had the witnesses Norman Baker: The police do catch people, it is fair here last time, they were not clear how much of the to say. money got through to the passengers who suffered cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [E] Processed: [17-01-2012 10:41] Job: 016898 Unit: PG02 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/29 November 11 corrected.xml

Ev 18 Transport Committee: Evidence

29 November 2011 Norman Baker MP delay and how much went into the train operating have lobbied us from the transport industry, and there companies. Do the Government have a view as to who is some validity to that view. should be compensated? Norman Baker: If the thrust of that question is Q112 Julian Sturdy: Is the DfT going to make whether train companies are making a mint out of this, representations to the Home Office that that Act I don’t think they are, not least because the train should be changed? companies, if they are sensible, want to grow their Norman Baker: That is the view I have business. The last thing they want is uncertainty on communicated already to the Home Office and others. the railway and people feeling that the trains are going We have this meeting which takes place between to be disrupted by cable theft and they may be stuck Ministers and different Departments and, obviously, in a tunnel for a couple of hours. we are discussing that matter as well as other steps we can take to try to improve the situation. As I say, Q109 Chair: Minister, we are not suggesting that the no option is off the table. rail companies are somehow encouraging cable theft—far from that. It is about what happens to the Q113 Chair: Your written evidence, Minister, says very large amount of compensation that the train that the Department does not wish to “burden” companies get. It is unclear where that goes. Is it all business as a result of the legislative change. kept by the train operating companies, or is any of it Norman Baker: No. going to the passengers who are inconvenienced? Norman Baker: I am not an expert on that particular Q114 Chair: Would that general concern stop there matter—it is more Theresa Villiers’ area than mine— being any change in the end? but, yes, of course, passengers get compensated when Norman Baker: The Government, generally, do not trains are late. A mechanism is in place for doing that. want to burden business, particularly at the moment, The train companies pay out to passengers when trains as you will appreciate, with the economic situation the are significantly or severely delayed, and they get paid way it is. You have to ask the question, and we have by Network Rail when the trains cannot run. asked the question: is business well served by the present arrangements? I do not think it is. Business is Q110 Chair: When we put that question to ATOC at being severely disrupted by the present arrangements our last session, the answer was most unclear about in all sorts of ways. Every single incident on the what happened to the compensation. If you do not railway—there were 995 last year on the network—is know, could I ask you to look into that matter further? causing major disruption to passengers and business. We would like to know who receives the Doing nothing, in my view, does not help business. compensation. The question legitimately to be asked is whether Norman Baker: I will happily do that, Chair, and drop increased regulations on this particular occasion you a line about it. would be less of a burden to business than doing nothing. That is the equation that has to be set out. Q111 Julian Sturdy: Minister, you talked about shutting down supply chains for stolen metal, and I Q115 Chair: From what you have said to us, you entirely agree with that. It is the real way we are going think it would be a good idea to take further action, to crack down on this form of theft. But, surely, when including looking at the Scrap Metal Dealers Act. we talk about that, it has to go back, as Mr Stringer Who do you think might want to override that on the was saying, to the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 and basis that more legislation is bad for business, even the changes that need to be made to that. Everyone though you think it would be good for business in who has come in front of the Select Committee so far, stopping more thefts on the line? including the British Metal Recycling Association, Norman Baker: All of us in both coalition parties do has agreed that the Act needs changing. We need to not want to have regulation and laws for the sake of have more robust legislation. I am a little concerned it. But, if we are convinced collectively that taking about what I have heard so far. Can you clarify what action through legislation will deal with this problem sort of representations Transport Ministers are making and, ultimately, be more beneficial to business than on the changes to the Act? What I have heard so far doing nothing, then we will end up there. is a little vague. Everything we have heard in this Committee so far on this problem says that that Q116 Chair: What kind of discussions have taken legislation needs urgent reform. Could you clarify that place within the Government on this specific issue? a little more, please? Norman Baker: The main focus has been the cross- Norman Baker: Are you asking what the DfT’s view ministerial meeting, which has met twice. There has, is on it, as opposed to anything else? obviously, been correspondence between different Julian Sturdy: Yes; that is what I am asking. Ministers about specific issues, and Ministers in Norman Baker: I believe that there is a prima facie different Departments have floated several case for amending the Act. That is what I tell my suggestions. That is the normal way, as you will fellow Ministers. However, of course, it has to be appreciate, of proceeding within Government. I have subject to evaluation, and there may be unforeseen to be slightly careful not to hang out the washing consequences about which others know but I do not. totally, but I can say that, genuinely, every Department Ultimately, it is a matter for the Home Office. But, on is seized of the need to do something about this the face of it, that is certainly the view of those who problem and we are all working harmoniously and cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [O] Processed: [17-01-2012 10:41] Job: 016898 Unit: PG02 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/29 November 11 corrected.xml

Transport Committee: Evidence Ev 19

29 November 2011 Norman Baker MP collectively to do that. As I say, perhaps something as possible in terms of their systems, that they know will be announced by the Chancellor very shortly. where all their trains are at any one time, that there is proper communication between the train company Q117 Chair: Can you tell us where the resistance to headquarters and the people on the trains, and that change is coming from? there is a proper system for telling passengers during Norman Baker: I am not sure that there is any disruption what the position is to make sure that they resistance. There is simply a genuine questioning as are properly informed. to what would be effective. That is what we are I have also been looking at another issue with looking at: what would be effective? If we were to Network Rail and the train companies, which is a change the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964, would that more general issue but relates to cable theft as well, mean that there would be a problem, for example, at which concerns what happens when trains are Felixstowe? Would everybody take their copper to stranded and how we deal with passengers in that Felixstowe and put it in a container to go abroad, for situation. I have asked Network Rail to look at a example? We have to look at what the consequences situation whereby, if a train is not very far from a of particular actions are. It is not a question of which station, perhaps that train should be allowed to run Departments are resistant but making sure that what into the station even through a red signal—if it can be we do is well thought through and has the desired done safely, of course—rather than being held there effect of trying to close down this particular problem. indefinitely. What has happened in the past is that passengers get very frustrated. They can see the Q118 Chair: It is clear from what you said to us that station down the line and they end up leaving the the Government are concerned about this issue and train, which then causes massive disruption because you are looking at these areas, but it is all a little the power has to be switched off if it is a third rail vague about exactly what is happening now. Can you system. It takes a much longer time to reinstate the give us any indication of what actions have been taken railway than would have been the case if they had or are imminent? stayed on the train. There are steps that the industry Norman Baker: For example, I mentioned that the can take to make passengers feel comfortable and to HMRC are paying more attention to scrap yards than make sure that they can get exited from a train as fast they were. Defra is looking at what the Environment as possible. Agency can do in terms of its involvement, which is normally for environmental purposes, but, clearly, Q121 Chair: This is, as you say, a major problem, they are regular visitors to these premises; so they can and we are looking specifically at the transport aspect be involved. I have talked about what we are doing of it. What has your Department done or is doing to with Network Rail and British Transport Police to put show that this issue is seen as a matter of great some backbone into the policing and capture of these importance where urgent action is required? What are people who are responsible. The energy networks are you actually doing in this regard? working very closely with DECC to try to make sure Norman Baker: I have already indicated the steps we that they are protected. We are taking quite a number are taking with Network Rail, the train companies and of steps to try to make sure that we do what we can British Transport Police to make the network more immediately and to identify what needs to be done in resilient. Those are significant steps which have the medium and longer term. improved matters. We are now catching more people who are stealing metal than previously was the case. Q119 Chair: Are you concerned about the impact of We are getting Network Rail more involved in terms cable theft on transport for the Olympics? of making sure that their cables are properly identified Norman Baker: There is an issue about that, and I and so on. Quite a lot is going on in the industry. But, have asked David Higgins of Network Rail to give if I may say so, what the Department for Transport some thought to it. There is an issue with overhead has done quite successfully is persuade other wires now, which is horrendously dangerous, but there Departments that this is a serious issue that needs to appear to be no areas where people aren’t prepared to be taken seriously. There is a comedy programme on go to steal metal. The thief appears to be completely Radio 4 where a clip from a newspaper is read out unworried about the consequences for himself in at the end and everybody laughs. On one particular terms of where he goes and completely unworried programme the clip they read out was: “British about any morality. We are seeing overhead cables Transport Police see metal theft as second only to disappearing, including from the energy networks, and terrorism”, and everybody in the audience laughed. we are seeing church roofs and war memorials being That was the attitude just three or four months ago. stripped. Metal theft is an epidemic. We have been successfully telling other Departments of our problems and persuading them that we cannot Q120 Chair: Do you think the train operating do nothing. We must take significant action on this companies could do more to prevent theft? front. Norman Baker: I don’t think so. I answered that question earlier when Jim Dobbin asked it. They are Q122 Chair: Which Departments do you need to in a difficult position because they are the recipient of persuade? the track and the recipient of the energy which is Norman Baker: I think we have persuaded them all supplied by whoever supplies it, so there is not much now, but it is a question of getting the right solutions. that they can do. What they can do, as I mentioned Everybody is now seized of the extent of the problem earlier, is try and make sure that they are as resilient and sees the need to take action. It is now just a matter cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [E] Processed: [17-01-2012 10:41] Job: 016898 Unit: PG02 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/29 November 11 corrected.xml

Ev 20 Transport Committee: Evidence

29 November 2011 Norman Baker MP of making sure that we have the correct measures in Q124 Graham Stringer: Doesn’t the train protection place rather than measures that may have unwanted or warning system stop trains going through red signals? unintended consequences. Norman Baker: As I understand it, they are able to undertake that manoeuvre, but, if there is any further Q123 Graham Stringer: Can I just take you back to information that I need to send to the Committee on what you said before—it was a surprising answer— that, I will do so. that you are going to encourage trains to go through red signals when cable has been taken? First, is that Q125 Chair: Thank you very much, Minister. We advisable for safety reasons, and, secondly, is it look forward to hearing more about what steps are physically possible? being taken. Norman Baker: There are existing measures on the Norman Baker: In answer to an earlier point, I can railway which apply where trains can safely be moved confirm that compensation to passengers is governed under caution. That is the sort of system I am talking by the National Rail Conditions of Carriage, which about. I am not talking about taking any risks, but in sets minimum standards, and specific compensation a situation where you have a train held at a red signal terms are set out in the Passengers’ Charter for each and within sight of a station, if that can be properly train operating company. handled in a safe way—it must, of course, be Chair: Yes, but we still want to know who is getting absolutely safe—and Network Rail thinks it can be the money. handled safely, then it must make sense to get that Norman Baker: I will still write to you, but I thought train into the station and discharge the passengers, I would mention that. rather have them decide unilaterally to get off the Chair: Thank you very much. train, which is far more dangerous, on to the track side and walk down the track. cobber Pack: U PL: CWE1 [SO] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03

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Written evidence

Written evidence from Network Rail, ATOC and Rail Freight Group (CTR 05) Summary 1. Cable theft is a growing and spreading problem facing the rail network. It causes substantial delays to our passengers, undermines rail freight’s competitiveness, and costs Network Rail and Train and Freight Operating Companies substantial sums. We are working together as an industry to tackle the problem, and welcome the Transport Committee’s interest in this inquiry. 2. Network Rail faced direct costs of over £43 million for three years between 2008–09 and 2010–11. The impact on the wider economy is substantial, if harder to quantify, but we estimate it to be a similar amount. 3. The first seven (out of 13) periods of 2011–12 have seen nearly as many incidents of cable theft (625) as all of 2009–10 (656). 4. More broadly, metal theft is a growing problem across the economy, with energy, telecoms, churches, local government and even war memorials and graveyards being victims. 5. The common factor to all of these is the ease with which stolen metal can be disposed of. Regulation of scrap metal dealers is the weak link in our efforts to combat the problem. Network Rail, ATOC, Rail Freight Group and companies from other affected industries have developed a set of proposals to cut down on metal theft.

The Scale of the Problem 6. The incidence of cable theft has accelerated sharply in the last two years. Strikingly, so far in 2011–12 there have been 625 incidents, causing over 240,000 delay minutes by 15 October—more in just over half the year than in all of 2009–10. 7. The table shows the growth in incidents and cost over the last three full years. The total cost includes replacement cable, labour costs and other direct costs to Network Rail. Compensation cost Total Direct Cost to Financial Year No. of incidents Delay minutes (Schedule 8) NR (estimate) 2008–09 742 283,167 £7,858,516 £12,264,682 2009–10 656 321,570 £10,931,350 £13,961,998 2010–11 995 365,265 £12,137,220 £16,510,663 Total 2,393 970,002 £30,927,086 £42,737,343

8. Last year 35,629 National Rail services were delayed or cancelled as a result of cable theft. To put this in context, train operators run just over 20,000 services on an average weekday. ATOC estimate that approximately 3.8 million passenger journeys were delayed or cancelled last year as a result of cable theft, and operators forecast a further 500,000 passenger journeys were not taken, as the disruption caused by cable theft suppressed demand 9. Cable theft used to be a smaller problem confined largely to a few hotspots. Regionally, these tended to be in the North of England, which is still where the most incidents occur. However, this is changing. The top 10 incidents of the last year were spread throughout the country, from Woking to Doncaster. Major incidents included: — In Woking on 9 June 2011, 56 trains were cancelled, 43 were part cancelled and 9,928 delay minutes were caused by cable theft. Passengers on one train left the train onto the tracks, causing extra delay and taking a huge risk with their lives. — East Coast reported a theft during the Friday evening peak in April near Newark, causing 63 trains to be cancelled and a further 238 delayed, causing 10,275 delay minutes, and causing major congestion and disruption at Peterborough and London Kings Cross, as passengers were forced to find alternative routes. — In Bermondsey on 6 September 2011, theft of 65m of cable caused massive delay to services out of London Bridge. 146 trains were cancelled, 129 trains started or ended their journeys early, and 840 trains were delayed, causing around 11,000 minutes of delays. Two people have been arrested. — The knock-on impact of a recent theft near Stansted Airport were a large number of holidaymakers and business travellers missing their flights.

Impact on Passengers 10. The misery and frustration for disrupted passengers is very real, and is damaging the reputation of the railway which is otherwise enjoying high levels of performance and passenger satisfaction. While other external events affecting performance, such as bad weather, can be forecast and are self-evident, it necessarily takes a time for cable theft to be identified and repaired, and to get the system moving once more. Operators will cobber Pack: U PL: CWE1 [E] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03

Ev 22 Transport Committee: Evidence

inform passengers that disruption is as a result of cable theft, as soon as it is confirmed, before which they can likely only refer to it as a signalling problem.

11. Operators, Network Rail and the British Transport Police (BTP) have well-established and constantly improving ways of giving information to passengers and finding alternative ways for them to reach their destination. While the majority of passengers understand the fault lies clearly with the thieves, incidents reported by train companies show increased verbal and even physical abuse of rail staff during cable theft disruption.

Impact on our Staff

12. One recent incident demonstrates the nature of the risks to our staff from cable theft. On 26 October 2011 at Crossgates (just east of Leeds Station) on the Trans Pennine route from York to Manchester we had multiple signalling failures caused by a cable cut in three separate places and 70m of 48 core cable stolen. While teams from Wakefield and Leeds were attending the failure they were receiving threats from locals, who were allegedly throwing items at the teams working. BTP were requested to attend. During the incident the vans were also broken into and tools stolen.

13. This incident also affected other parts of our network as we had a point failure at Bradford and more cable theft at Dinnington Junction with no teams available to attend. All of Leeds teams were dealing with the above incident so these were attended during the night. The constant drain on resources and morale of the teams dealing with these incidents is difficult to measure. However, for the last two years teams on nights across Yorkshire have spent considerable time undertaking repairs on cabling and location cases.

Impact on the Economy

14. The impact on the economy is very hard to measure accurately, but based on government’s own appraisal methodology, we estimate that the cost to the economy based on time lost is of a similar order magnitude to the direct costs to the railway.

15. Delays from cable theft also have long term impacts, for example discouraging freight businesses and passengers from using the railway. Each freight train takes around 60 lorries off the road, depending on the cargo. Where businesses use road or air transport instead, carbon emissions are substantially higher. Switching to roads also increases congestion, which presents a cost to all road users and the wider economy.

16. As an industry in receipt of substantial sums of public money, costs caused by cable theft are ultimately borne by taxpayers as well as fare paying passengers.

17. Delays to train services have both immediate effects on passenger demand and revenue, with people unable to travel at the time of the disruption, and longer term impacts as people are dissuaded from use rail for future journeys. Short term impacts are highly dependent on the specific circumstances of individual incidents, and therefore difficult to quantify in general terms.

18. Although not specific to cable theft, industry evidence suggests that train delays reduce demand and revenue in the longer term. Guidance in the Passenger Demand Forecasting Handbook (PDFH), a cross-industry document used by train companies, Network Rail and the Department for Transport, enables this to be estimated. If cable theft incidents had the same effect as other types of delay, PDFH would suggest an annual loss to the industry of around £3m to £4m, with over 0.5 million trips being lost to rail.

19. Where people divert from rail to road, there will be further economic costs due to increased congestion, as well as environmental and safety impacts from the additional road traffic. The longer term loss of demand will exacerbate all these effects.

20. Unlike previous recessions, the price of copper has actually increased, surging fourfold from its low point in January 2009 to its high point in February 2011. This reflects changes in the global commodities market now shaped by emerging economies such as China and Brazil. As the graph shows, the incidence of cable theft closely tracks the price of copper, allowing for drops in winter months. cobber Pack: U PL: CWE1 [O] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03

Transport Committee: Evidence Ev 23

Figure COPPER PRICES AND CABLE THEFT 5000 140 4500 120 4000 3500 100 3000 80 2500 60 2000 £/tonne 1500 40

1000 Incidents/month 20 500 0 0 Jan July Jan July Jan July Jan July Jan July 2007 2007 2008 2008 2009 2009 2010 2010 2011 2011

No 2 Copper Wire Incidence of cable theft

Price is No 2 Copper wire at British scrap dealers; source: www.letsrecycle.com

Impact on Freight 21. Cable theft incidents are also having a significant impact on the performance of rail freight services. Although freight performance does not have such a high profile as passenger performance, there is still a significant impact on rail freight operators and their customers. Freight services tend to be treated as lower priority than passenger services when there are incidents on the network; this is not unreasonable but compounds the impact on the freight operators. 22. For rail freight operators, delay leads to additional costs, for example in staff costs, fuel costs and performance penalties to customers. Customers also incur costs for example, if they need to keep terminals open to receive late running trains, or in inventory management. Forward distribution may also be delayed, impacting on road hauliers and throughout the supply chain. 23. Delay also has reputational impact on rail freight. Although rail freight generally performs well compared to road distribution, there is a lack of familiarity and understanding which can make rail seem risky. A delayed freight train also impacts on a greater number of loads than a delayed lorry.

Impact on High Profile Events and Public Holidays 24. Disruption caused by cable theft at times of very high demand, such as major sports fixtures, Christmas or bank holiday getaways present enormous operational, financial and reputational risk to the railways. This puts extra pressure on the police and other public authorities, and onto other transport modes. 25. The potential for significant, high-profile disruption during next year’s Olympic Games is a particular concern. There will be 100 extra services running every day during the London 2012 Olympics to meet the additional expected demand, with a forecast 350% increase in passenger numbers using Stratford Station. Operators are working to increase services, and provide special deals for Olympic visitors to support the organisers’ wish for the greenest games ever. ATOC, Network Rail and British Transport Police are working on contingency plans to limit the occurrence and impact of cable theft during the games, but the threat is real.

Tackling Cable Theft—Our Strategy 26. We are working, in partnership with BTP and other industry partners, to make cable theft harder to do and to get away with. The strategy includes measures to: — Make cable/metal increasingly difficult to steal. — Increase the risk of being caught and jailed to offenders. — Reduce the value of the commodity to offenders. — Reduce the attractiveness of stolen metal to scrap metal dealers. — Seek legislative change to take away the illegal market in stolen metal. cobber Pack: U PL: CWE1 [E] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03

Ev 24 Transport Committee: Evidence

Prevention 27. Prevention is one part of the solution to cable theft, and we are working hard on making it harder to steal from our network. The worst hit part of the network is our London Northeastern Route, which is centred on the East Coast Main Line. Here, a mix of technology, enforcement and intelligence measures have been taken. 28. Technology: — Deployment of Red Web, a grease or gel containing a molecular tag applied to cables, which transfers onto the thief during handling. This is similar to Smart water which is used elsewhere on the network to fulfil a similar function. — Deployment of covert cameras which also act as an alarm. — Use of Spanish cable, a harder to cut alloy and which is only used in the railway in this country, making it impossible to sell on at a legitimate dealer. 29. Enforcement: — Utilisation of Mobile Operations Managers to provide a visible deterrent. — Joint operations with BTP. There is a weekly conference to review what has occurred in the previous week and plan ahead. — Security teams taken on a 12 week contract to be deployed in hot spot areas. — In liaison with BTP use of the Network Rail helicopter to patrol areas. — Multi-agency visits to scrap yards. — Three police teams of a sergeant and eight constables based at Darlington, Leeds and Doncaster funded by Network Rail. 30. Intelligence: — Network Rail has funded intelligence officers. — Three cable hardening teams based at Newcastle, Leeds and Sheffield working at vulnerable or critical locations. — Cable theft hotspots mapping.

Displacement 31. One of the major challenges with enforcement is that our efforts can move rather than prevent crime. Essex is an area which experienced significant incidents of cable theft at night, leading to police dedicating five double crewed police cars to tackling it overnight. This resulted in the incidence in Essex decreasing, but a simultaneous increase in Hertfordshire, moving the problem. 32. One particularly prolific cable thief was arrested several times, and has now reportedly transferred from cable theft to house burglary. While this reduces the chaos and disruption faced by the rail network and its passengers and customers, it is hardly the ideal outcome. 33. The other form of potential displacement is between different networks and other sources of metal. The railway is one of the key sectors affected, but others include telecoms and energy, while churches, local government and even war memorials have been targeted. The common factor in all of these different thefts is the ease with which stolen metal can be sold on, with no questions asked.

Legislation 34. The rail industry is confident that the BTP is using the existing outdated legislation to the fullest extent possible and that there is a resulting legislative gap. The BTP’s engagement with a number of major scrap metal dealers makes it clear that voluntary measures are very unlikely to be implemented, and would in any case not be effective. 35. The cross industry lobbying group on cable theft was formed from various companies (Network Rail, BT, Arqiva, ATOC, Rail Freight Group, E.On, Energy Networks Association, Western Power Distribution) to tackle the crime we all face. 36. We have developed a set of proposals for legislation. While we agree that regulation is a last resort, the level of resources now being put into prevention and the level of displacement that occurs suggests that the ease with which stolen metal can be sold on must be tackled. We believe that the Scrap Metal Dealers Act (1964) is woefully out of date and does not constrain unscrupulous dealers. We therefore propose a new approach: — A robust licensing regime (rather than the present registration) with clear requirements upon the dealer to take steps to reduce the risk that stolen materials are purchased or received. — Scrap metal dealers to pay a licence fee in order to give local authorities greater funds to facilitate the regulation of the licence. cobber Pack: U PL: CWE1 [O] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03

Transport Committee: Evidence Ev 25

— Property obtained by virtue of breaches of the legislation should be regarded as criminal assets allowing Proceeds of Crime provisions to apply. — Police powers to close scrap metal dealers in line with alcohol licensing and police authority to search and investigate all premises owned and operated by a scrap metal dealer. — Restrict trade in scrap metals to cashless payments and introduce a requirement that scrap metal must be held for a certain period before being sold or processed in order to allow payments to be processed. — Searchable records to be kept of proof of identity of the seller of scrap and any vehicles used to transport it (eg through photo id and CCTV). — Magistrate powers to add restrictions on to licences and to prevent re-opening of closed yards until conditions have been met. 37. We appreciate that the vast majority of the metal recycling industry does not handle stolen metal, and we do not propose regulation lightly. But the impact of cable theft on the railways and other industries is so great that it has become necessary. 38. Unscrupulous scrap metal dealers are the weak link in our efforts to combat metal theft. We will continue to work hard on enforcement and making it harder to steal cable, but we must tackle the illegal market in stolen metal as part of our efforts to combat cable theft. 31 October 2011 cobber Pack: U PL: CWE1 [E] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03

Ev 26 Transport Committee: Evidence 1 2908 398 4 3 211 2,706 3 65 £86,966 2,093 418 £124,355 10 31 4,582 15 £124,796 £458 1 231 17 12 748 £41,876 12 61 81 398 40 53 3 5,556 84 1,328 £386,126 £28,095 £1,215 1 4 1 9 375 13 7 48 2,866 £121,456 92 105 £589 £4,314 Further written evidence from Network Rail (CTR 05A) ROUT LIVE CABLE THEFT IMPACT—DELAYS AND CANCELLATIONS 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 Cancelled Part Cancelled Part Cancelled Part Cancelled Part Cancelled Part Cancelled Part Incidents Trains Trains Cancelled Delays Cost Incidents Trains Trains Cancelled Delays Cost Incidents Trains Trains Cancelled Delays Cost Incidents Trains Trains Cancelled Delays Cost Incidents Trains Trains Cancelled Delays Cost Incidents Trains Trains Cancelled Delays Cost AngliaEastMidlands Kent 30LondonNorth 1,343 30Eastern London 2,216 439 10,882North 8 264Western 174Scotland 127 116Sussex 473 7,622Wales 73Wessex 202 17 4 8,768Western 324 496 32,169Totals £984,042 2 119,499 £1,048,780 74 32 £3,061,711 4 11 17 2 342 769 26 687 22 489 710 430 65,294 24,237 15,611 £1,387,611 949 739 563 21 1,457 £50,281 136 54 405 16 8,107 83 10 1,125 2 23 37 244,074 58 589 £7,666,600 51 92 794 167,509 294 793 8,752 £2,154 47 £4,725,454 43 6,612 £543,903 1,390 742 £17,024 12,253 £418,459 27,709 6,532 £152,636 327 249 £720,251 27 10,463 £215,439 31 71,548 10 £1,361,966 885 1,048 1 4 79 373 27 382 2,850 5 166 262 1,022 2 11,316 657 283,167 5,570 9 £7,858,516 270 52 294 £148,591 102,680 512 5 656 £2,630,249 1 28,886 46 10 190 33 350 40,632 9,763 547 1,345 10 4,396 125,089 £2,643,979 £278,965 10 £212,450 £3,085,507 5,584 1,034 6,386 £195,238 18 321,570 28 £10,931,350 £155,750 12 2 1,803 13 62 £163 8 951 57 3,331 3 64 £82,849 112 28,829 6 £1,255,370 15 67 13,662 142 £1,020,060 £13,974 71 £1,738 Anglia EastMidlands Kent LondonNorth Eastern 1LondonNorth 9Western 2Scotland 141Sussex 7Wales 1,703Wessex Western 4Totals 40 2 17 1,986 88 1,846 36,652 10 £28,888 £932,135 £299 44 31 14 1,048 854 90 38,648 11 £961,322 31 49 49 12,204 2,387 33 15,728 £199,360 £258,548 455 82 14,116 59 3,367 138 551 34,900 £873,344 116 412 538 196,018 19,042 108 £4,428,936 32,168 691 £907,687 3 624 50 241,035 £5,810,740 1 390 £11,183 cobber Pack: U PL: CWE1 [O] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03

Transport Committee: Evidence Ev 27 2010–11 2011–12 Cancelled Part Cancelled Part Incidents Trains Trains Cancelled Delays Cost Incidents Trains Trains Cancelled Delays Cost AngliaEastMidlands KentLondon 74North Eastern 33 2,394London 527North 17 1,071Western 13,474 226Scotland 1,750 196Sussex 54Wales 408 141 10,372Wessex 56 34Western 21,055 £1,089,809Totals 455 35 321 3 1,067 137,991 84 11,234 £3,534,219 64 83 8 £282,473 19 446 12,681 143 2,426 995 63 105,848 344 £417,950 2,677 £2,795,899 2,670 262 35,629 22 10,275 764 77 124 36 276 £30,081 198 1,430 9 27 341 382 7,598 7,295 156 1,440 1,740 110 £254,825 88 365,430 2 35,395 310 £12,132,860 19 23,968 £1,209,668 268 7 £1,182,417 29,631 112,530 107 £2,377,513 £3,589,067 33 688 3,536 227 £140,423 42 266 28,301 10 22 66 885 82,011 2,194 £3,019,120 24 1,300 3,524 13,440 1,526 7 £669,002 £92,439 43 1,030 92 18 291,446 838 £10,279,666 5 1,331 18 143 £86,694 96 21,587 5,363 34 £398,487 £143,923 14,036 £511,105 55 13,656 £587,411 cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [E] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/016898_w010_w018b_mark_CTR 14B DfT supplementary.xml

Ev 28 Transport Committee: Evidence

Further written evidence from the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) (CTR 05B) Letter to the Chair of the Transport Committee from Michael Roberts, Chief Executive, ATOC Thank you again for inviting me to give evidence to the Transport Committee inquiry into cable theft on the railways on 8 November. It was an important opportunity for me to set out the concerns train operators have about the scale of damage caused by cable thieves to the rail network, which disrupts millions of passenger journeys every year. I said I would follow up issues raised by Graham Stringer MP during the session on the payments made by Network Rail (NR) to train companies following disruption, the system for passengers to receive compensation from train companies following disruption, and on the average delay experienced by passengers. Every train operator has a track access agreement (TAA) with NR as the infrastructure operator. Train companies are the customers of NR, with a contractual relationship that sets out the rights and obligations of both parties as well as defining the charges paid by train operators. As such, for every pound of train company revenue, we estimate that an average of 48p goes to NR. Track access agreements incorporate a performance regime, popularly referred to as “Schedule 8”, introduced by government at the time of privatisation. If train delays attributable to NR fall below specified benchmarks, in a process monitored by the Office of Rail Regulation, NR is required to make a payment to train operators reflecting the loss of revenue to the franchise. Similarly, if NR performs better than the benchmarks, train companies pay amounts reflecting the extra revenue they might earn from this. Information on payments made under Schedule 8 is made available at an aggregate national level in Network Rail’s published accounts. In our joint written evidence with NR and the Rail Freight Group, we were able to provide overall Schedule 8 costs to NR attributable to cable theft in each of the last three years, but information on payments to individual operators is not publicly available, either in general, or specifically attributable to cable theft. The system was designed by the Department for Transport to help enable franchise bidders to continue offering the best deal to DfT (in terms of premia paid or subsidy received for running the franchise). Conceptually, its purpose was to provide a mechanism to overcome the difficulties faced by bidders in assessing the commercial risk of NR failing to meet its obligations on performance, rather than to provide a system of compensating passengers for delays (which is dealt with in other ways, set out further below in this letter). Schedule 8 payments are calculated using a complex formula set out in the TAA which is intended to reflect the long run impact of NR’s record on performance on passenger revenues. It is designed to leave an operator— whose franchise agreement with DfT commits it to a premium or subsidy payment line for the duration of the franchise—neither advantaged nor disadvantaged by NR either under- or out-performing its obligations in the TAA. Attempting to make a link between payments made by NR to TOCs, and compensation paid to passengers, as suggested by one line of inquiry by the Committee, misconstrues the original intention of Schedule 8 as designed by the DfT. Ultimately, train companies are driven by the need to provide high quality, reliable services. Service reliability is key to operating a successful franchise and in growing passenger demand. As we submitted to the committee, we estimate that half a million journeys were not taken last year due to suppressed demand resulting from the disruption caused by cable theft. This is in the interests neither of passengers nor of train companies, and it underlines our members’ commitment to ensure that all reasonable action is taken to tackle cable theft. Separate to the Schedule 8 arrangements, franchise agreements require train operators to provide passengers with compensation in the event of severe disruption, and often train companies provide more generous compensation during delay than the strict letter of the rules requires them to. In making bids, train operators typically assess the likelihood of having to make these payments and budget accordingly. Figures for compensation paid to passengers by train operating companies are not publicly available. The National Rail Conditions of Carriage, jointly agreed by the Department for Transport and train operators, requires compensation to be available to passengers if services are cancelled or delayed for a certain amount of time. Compensation regimes within franchise agreements vary according to the individual franchise. As a general rule, all passengers are entitled to some refund, either in cash or in National Rail vouchers after one hour of delay caused by disruption. I have attached the relevant section of the National Rail Conditions of Carriage for information, and the full text can be found at: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/system/galleries/ download/misc/NRCOC.pdf. The strict interpretation of the NRCOC is that operators are not required to provide compensation where disruption is caused by circumstances that are outside of the train company’s control. This includes cable theft, as an act of deliberate vandalism. However, as a general principle, train operators will provide compensation for any passenger who has bought a ticket for a journey that is cancelled or substantially delayed. It is in the best interests of the reputation and future business of train companies that customers are dealt with fairly in this way. cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [O] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/016898_w010_w018b_mark_CTR 14B DfT supplementary.xml

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Passengers must apply for compensation within 28 days of the relevant journey, providing a ticket as proof. Clear instructions of how passengers can contact train companies are displayed in train carriages, in stations, on the literature and websites of individual train companies and on the National Rail Enquiries website. More recently awarded franchises tend to operate the Delay Repay scheme, which allows passengers to apply for a fixed proportion of the price of their ticket depending on the amount of time they have been delayed on a specific journey. For example, they may get 50% off the ticket price back for delays of between 30 and 59 minutes, and 100% of the ticket price back for delays over an hour. Other operators, normally operating under older franchises, offer compensation under the Passenger Charter scheme. Compensation is available where there has been a serious episode of disruption during a morning or evening peak period, called a “void period”, and passengers will receive a refund for a proportion of the fare paid. Passenger Charters also allow for discounts to passengers renewing season tickets when the train company’s performance falls below an agreed target over a sustained period. Finally, Mr Stringer asked about the average delay figures. Taking the full year of 2010–11, 32,759 trains were delayed as a result of cable theft (a further 2,870 were cancelled in full or in part). With 365,430 delay minutes recorded, that equates to an average of 11.16 minutes of delay per train. Delay minutes are calculated for trains rather than passengers, but based on average loadings, we would estimate around 3.8million passenger journeys were delayed or cancelled as a result of cable theft in 2010–11. I hope this information is useful to the committee. 24 November 2011

[Extract from pages 15–16, National Rail Conditions of Carriage] H. Train Service Disruption 42. Compensation for delays (a) Where delays, cancellations or poor service arise for reasons within the control of a Train Company or Rail Service Company, you are entitled to compensation in accordance with the arrangements set out in that Train Company’s Passenger’s Charter. This can be obtained from the relevant Train Company’s ticket offices, customer relations office or internet site. (b) The amount of compensation offered by each Train Company in its Passenger’s Charter varies from Train Company to Train Company. However, if you are more than one hour late at your destination station you will, as a minimum, be entitled to compensation in the form of travel vouchers in accordance with the table below: Ticket held Amount in vouchers Single ticket 20% of the price paid Return ticket with delay on outward or return 10% of the price paid journey Return ticket with delay on both the outward and 20% of the price paid return journey 7-Day Season Ticket for each day a delay occurs 20% of the price paid ÷ 7 Monthly or longer period Season Ticket The discounr or compensation arrangements in the relevant Train Company’s Passenger’s Charter apply.

The table above does not apply if you are entitled to a refund in accordance with Condition 26. [Condition 26 applies to tickets purchased but not used, for reasons other than disruption] (c) This Condition 42 sets out the entire liability of the relevant Train Companies in relation to delays, cancellations and poor service. Except as shown in this Condition 42, the Train Companies do not accept liability for any loss (including consequential loss) caused by the delay and or cancellation of any train. However, they will consider additional claims in exceptional circumstances. (d) Rail travel vouchers may be exchanged or used in part payment for tickets for any rail journey on the services of the Train Companies. (e) To qualify for this compensation you must make a claim to one of the Train Companies’ ticket offices or customer relations offices within 28 days of completing the relevant journey, stating the timetabled departure time of the train or trains you intended to use for the journey. When you make your claim you must provide a ticket or other authority to travel which was valid for that journey. A Train Company will allow you to retain a ticket for this purpose.

43. Help from Train Companies if you are stranded If disruption caused by circumstances within the control of a Train Company or a Rail Service Company leaves you stranded before you have reached your destination and the Train Company whose trains you are entitled to use is unable to get you to that destination by other means, any Train Company which is in a cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [E] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/016898_w010_w018b_mark_CTR 14B DfT supplementary.xml

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position to help will, if it reasonably can, either arrange to get you to that destination, or provide overnight accommodation for you.

44. Circumstances that are within a Train Company’s control

For the purposes of Conditions 42 and 43, circumstances that are within a Train Company’s control include the negligent or wilful acts or omission of its, or a Rail Service Company’s, staff or agents.

45. Circumstances that are not within a Train Company’s control

For the purposes of Conditions 42 and 43, circumstances that are not within a Train Company’s control include: (a) acts or threats of vandalism or terrorism; (b) suicides or accidents involving trespassers; (c) gas leaks or fires in lineside buildings not caused by a Train Company or a Rail Service Company or any of their employees or agents; (d) line closures at the request of the police or emergency services; (e) exceptionally severe weather conditions; (f) industrial action by a Train Company’s, or Rail Service Company’s, staff or agents or by any other person; (g) riots or civil commotion; and (h) fire, mechanical or electrical failure or a defect (except where this is caused by a Train Company or Rail Service Company or their employees or agents, or as a result of the condition of a Train Company’s trains).

Further written evidence from Network Rail (CTR 05C)

The cost of replacing traditional cable with alternative technologies (Q9 &10)

There are a number of lineside cables installed along the railway mainly signalling, power and telecoms. A failure of any of the assets due to cable theft or vandalism will undermine both the safe running and performance of the railway operation, while replacing the all the cable infrastructure would be economically impracticable.

The ultimate answer is to replace the lineside cables with a wireless solution. This would effectively remove a vast amount of lineside cables associated with signalling control leaving only those cables required to feed lineside infrastructure ie power (although with the reduced requirements it should be possible to design more localised feed arrangements).

Wireless signalling, known as ERTMS, will have some effect on cable theft in the very long term, but is certainly not a quick win. While there is a trial rollout of it at present, the full implementation is a very long- term project, on a timescale of decades.

At the moment the most effective option to bury cables in areas that have a history of theft and vandalism— but this is not cheap and adds an additional cost into the renewal scheme at a rate of £75/Metre.

The cost of burying cable and using Spanish cable in comparison to copper cable (Q34)

The two strategies—burying cable, and using Spanish cable—both increase costs over a standard approach. — Mid-sized standard 50mm single cable installed in surface trough the all in costs are £48/m. — Mid-sized Spanish 50mm single cable installed in surface trough the all in costs are £52/m. — Mid-sized standard 50mm single cable installed in buried route the all in costs is £80/m. — Mid-sized Spanish 50mm single cable installed in buried route the all in costs is £94/m.

Based upon these costs the cost of burial of cable is almost twice as much as a renewal in “conventional” surface cable route, while Spanish cable increases costs further. 24 November 2011 cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [O] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/016898_w010_w018b_mark_CTR 14B DfT supplementary.xml

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Written evidence from the British Metals Recycling Association (CTR 16) 1. Introduction 1.1 The British Metals Recycling Association (BMRA) is the trade association for ferrous and non-ferrous metal recycling companies throughout the UK and represents some 300 businesses from multi-national companies to small family-owned enterprises, which between them handle over 95% of the metal recycled in the UK. This £4–5 billion industry processes over 15 million tonnes of metal annually into valuable secondary raw material for metals manufacturing both here in the UK and in a wide variety of export markets. 1.2 The BMRA welcomes the committee’s inquiry into cable theft on the railway and is pleased to respond to the call for evidence. We are extremely keen to continue working with the Government, the police and others to minimise the opportunities for thieves to dispose of stolen metal. Of the estimated 15,000 tonnes of metal stolen each year, the majority is stolen from BMRA members despite their vigorous and continuing efforts to improve security. The UK metal recycling industry also fully recognises the impact that metal theft is having on services provided to the public by utility companies, rail companies and churches. 1.3 We are pleased that the Government has begun to recognise the severity of the problem of metal theft. The BMRA welcomed the pledge given by Defra in its review of waste policy, published in June 2011, to “work with police, the Home Office and the Environment Agencies to help deliver a more strategic national intelligence-led approach to tackling metal theft, targeting illegal traders whilst ensuring that law abiding business can trade in safety.”

Measures to combat cable theft 2. Asset Protection 2.1 The BMRA recognises that there must be a much greater focus on the part of asset owners, in collaboration with police, insurance companies and others, to invest in asset security and designing out crime. This includes owners of metal recycling facilities in addition to the railway, churches and the utilities.

3. Improved Enforcement 3.1 The BMRA believes that an urgent national review of enforcement practice is needed. We believe that attention should, first and foremost, be focused on consistent and effective enforcement of existing legislation. Persistently high levels of theft and low rates of successful prosecution indicate that current approaches are not having the desired effect, with enforcement activity being incorrectly targeted and highly variable in scope across the regions. 3.2 Improved targeting and coordination by police and the Environment Agency must be a starting point for any review of enforcement practice. Environmental protection agencies are better resourced and more focussed on maintaining accurate records of UK metal recycling facilities than local authorities can ever be. Therefore greater use of intelligence and collaboration between environmental protection agencies and the police should be encouraged. Concrete measures would include: 3.2.1 Reform the current funding arrangements for the Environmental Agency, to re-focus resources provided by those paying permit/ licence fees. Currently, the Environment Agency is only able to use the money it receives from fees to inspect those paying those fees. It cannot use these resources to target those that do not. Not only would such a shift allow the Environmental Agencies to target enforcement activities on those operating outside the permitting regime, it would also represent a much more effective use of public funds. 3.2.2 Reforming the Acts to allow police to enter unlicensed premises without warrant. The Acts currently allow the police to inspect only licensed operators without warrant. 3.2.3 National coordination between the police and EA. 3.3 BMRA would welcome greater consistency in police activity through a single, national approach. Currently, BMRA members must contend with each police force deploying its own set of initiatives to address metal theft. Not only are the burdens imposed on metals recyclers by these initiatives highly variable, so is their effectiveness.

4. Updating Legislation 4.1 BMRA would welcome any steps to rationalise existing legislation, principally the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 to create an integrated, bespoke regime for metal recyclers and would be pleased to work with officials in the development of such a system. 4.2 An integrated regime must provide for improved coordination between authorities. At present scrap metal dealers must register with local authorities, whilst permits/ licences are issued by the Environmental Agencies. However, the Agencies and local authorities do not consult each other in the process. This means operators could be registered without holding a permit/ licence, and vice-versa. The Environmental Protection Agencies should become the sole authorities in their respective jurisdictions responsible for licensing and permitting operators. cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [E] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/016898_w010_w018b_mark_CTR 14B DfT supplementary.xml

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5. Cashless Trading 5.1 BMRA understands that the elimination of cash transactions is one of the options being considered by the Government. Our research indicates that cash is used in over half of the transactions undertaken by its members. The majority of the businesses involved are micro businesses, for whom cash trade makes up the vast majority of transactions. 5.2 Any move to restrict the use of cash in the purchasing of metal for recycling by licensed and permitted businesses will be seriously undermined unless the large, current number of illegal (un-licenced and/or un- permitted) businesses is radically reduced. Any move towards cash restrictions must therefore be preceded by effective enforcement against unregulated operators. Without this legitimate metal recyclers stand to lose substantial volumes of legitimate trade to illegal operators. 5.3 Clearly this outcome would not only seriously damage the metal recycling industry during a particularly difficult economic period but it would also serve to drive much of the wholly legal “gate” trade into the hands illegal operators, and would be ineffective in restricting the outlet for stolen material. November 2011

Written evidence from the British Transport Police (CTR 11) 1. Introduction 1.1 British Transport Police (BTP) is the national specialist police force for the railways (including the London Underground system, Docklands Light Railway, the Glasgow Subway, the Midland Metro tram system and Croydon Tramlink) providing a policing service to rail operators, their staff and passengers throughout England, Wales and Scotland. BTP has developed valuable expertise and the skills required to police a modern railway network. Fully integrated with local policing, BTP works closely with industry and community partners to provide a specialist, dedicated service protecting passengers, staff, and the network infrastructure from disruption. 1.2 BTP is committed to building a railway environment where there will be less crime and passengers and staff will suffer less disruption and inconvenience. BTP works in partnership with the Train Operating Companies (TOCs) and Freight Operating Companies (FOCs) and other partners to tackle metal thefts on the railway. 1.3 BTP has seven policing areas; London North, London South, London Underground, North Eastern, North Western, Wales and Western and Scotland. All areas have staff dedicated to reducing the incidence of metal theft. These include proactive uniform officers, detective officers, intelligence researchers and analysts and specialist source handling staff. In addition there is a specialist proactive team of five officers and a Fusion Intelligence Cell based at BTP’s headquarters that consists of a mixture of police and industry staff, supported by Network Rail and BT Openreach. BTP has over 100 officers and staff working solely on metal related crime. 1.4 Essential for the success of a multi agency approach to policing metal theft is the interaction and joint working of key stakeholders involved in metal theft investigation and prevention across the country working together sharing information and good practise to ensure the security of power supply, telephony and transport services to local communities, industry and commerce. 1.5 BTP has excellent relationships with all of its partners, and has driven activity, leading operations and developing technical and preventative tactics and is able to influence the national strategy through holding the chair of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) Metal Theft Working Group and a similar position with the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS). BTP works closely with industry, Network Rail, Power Generators, Telephony providers and the British Metal Recyclers Association. This is key to ensuring that there is joined up strategic and operational planning to achieve the joint goals of preventing metal theft, securing vital services and reducing the cost to UK plc.

2. Metal Theft 2.1 There have been large increases reported in metal theft by police forces across the UK, with levels remaining high for each of the rail, telecom and power industry sectors. Metal theft is a priority for BTP, although not all other forces. Metal theft remains one of the highest priorities for power networks, telecoms companies and the railway due to the significant potential for thefts to result in disruption and adversely impact their customers. 2.2 BTP was probably first in law enforcement to identify, and quick to react to, the increasing trend in metal related thefts. New crime reporting codes were established that helped BTP clearly identify the scope and scale of this crime and the affect on the nation’s railway. A lack of national standards in data recording elsewhere results in difficulties in the collation and analysis of metal thefts across the country. BTP’s current detection rate for live cable thefts (those incidents that affect the running of train services) is 16.2% and for non-live (defined as all other metal whose theft does not disrupt the running of train services) is 25.3%. cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [O] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/016898_w010_w018b_mark_CTR 14B DfT supplementary.xml

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2.3 The prevalence of metal theft is linked to dramatic changes in the price of metals on international exchanges. BTP has seen a rising trend of metal theft over the last three years experiencing 2,000 incidents in 2010–11 compared with approximately 1,500 in 2009–10. So far in 2011–12, over 1,500 offences have been reported suggesting figures will be in excess of previous highs, a trend reflected by other police forces and industries. Metal theft is closely tied to market prices and predictions suggest rising metal prices until at least 2015.

Fig. 1 BTP METAL THEFT CRIMES AND COPPER MARKET PRICES (01/01/2007 TO 10/10/2011) Cable / Copper Theft Comparison with Trade Market Trends (01/01/07 - 10/10/11) (Source: London Metal Exchange (LME)) Copper p/tonne* 340 320 10000 300 280 260 8000 240 220 200 6000 180 160

No of Crimes of No 140 4000 120 100 80 60 2000 40 20 0 0 Jan-07 Feb-07 Mar-07 Apr-07 May-07 Jun-07 Jul-07 Aug-07 Sept 07 Oct-07 Nov-07 Dec-07 Jan-08 Feb-08 Mar-08 Apr-08 May-08 Jun-08 Jul-08 Aug-08 Sep-08 Oct-08 Nov-08 Dec-08 Jan-09 Feb-09 Mar-09 Apr-09 May-09 Jun-09 Jul-09 Aug-09 Sep-09 Oct-09 Nov-09 Dec-09 Jan-10 Feb-10 Mar-10 Apr-10 May-10 Jun-10 Jul-10 Aug-10 Sep-10 Oct-10 Nov-10 Dec-10 Jan-11 Feb-11 Mar-11 Apr-11 May-11 Jun-11 Jul-11 Aug-11 Sep-11 Oct-11

No of Crimes Copper US $ p/tonne* £ equivilent*

3. Markets 3.1 As of October 2011, the availability of scrap metal has reduced due to merchants retaining materials for which they paid more than they can currently sell them for. 3.2 Global copper demand remains relatively strong, however many consumers are becoming more cautious and the price has recently become much more volatile as a result of the recent Eurozone crisis. 3.3 There is expected to be an increased demand for copper into 2012 with an easing of temporary restrictions on housing construction in China. The low worldwide inventory of copper availability similarly squeezes the demand and should cause an inflation of copper prices to exceed or at least stabilise at the £5,500 per tonne mark. 3.4 When coupled with increasing labour costs for miners, continuing miner disputes and disruptions caused from ore grade declines, metal commodity markets and in particular copper demand is expected to increase into 2012, driving a demand that will be met, to an extent, by the criminal engagement in theft of metals.

4. National Strategy 4.1 BTP works with ACPO on the national metal theft strategy. In addition BTP works in partnership with Network Rail to deliver their strategy on metal theft to reduce disruption and delay minutes caused by metal theft crimes affecting passenger journeys. 4.2 BTP is working closely with infrastructure operators to increase the effort required to steal metal by improving the security of metal used on replacement projects through better practice on the part of industry and by reducing its vulnerability. This is achieved by; — Early engagement with crime reduction officers highlighting effective industry practice, for example around property marking and physical barriers. — Embed a crime prevention focus within the industry by supporting the involvement of police crime reduction design advisors in the planning stages of construction projects. — Encourage, through ACPO, local policing teams to take a proactive role in reducing the opportunities for metal theft by working closely with metal owners. — Work with the Institute of Materials, exploring more sustainable ways of designing out this crime. This includes making metal harder to steal or easier to detect if stolen, as well as creating metal alternatives using cutting edge technologies. cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [E] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/016898_w010_w018b_mark_CTR 14B DfT supplementary.xml

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4.3 BTP is working to increase the risk to offenders ensuring that the theft of metal is no longer seen as low risk to the criminal by supporting the use of targeted enforcement action. — BTP is actively engaged with other police forces in joint activity including training and awareness days and enforcement action. — BTP is pioneering the coordination of national and regional intelligence, including from industry through the establishment of a police / industry joint Fusion Intelligence Cell. This improves intelligence-led, targeted, multi-agency enforcement response. Medium term. — Working with Crimestoppers and the media to raise public awareness of the consequences of metal theft to encourage the public to report suspicious activity. — Working with HMRC, Trading Standards and others to disrupt all avenues of criminal activity in relation to metal theft by utilising all available powers and encourage the wider use of the powers to confiscate criminal proceeds under the Proceeds of Crime Act. 4.4 BTP has been working with the Metal Recycling Industry to reduce the ease and rewards to offenders of selling stolen metal, by providing dealers with the tools to identify stolen metals and discourage the sellers from stealing metal by reducing the cash benefits and increasing the risk. — Providing photographic guides on metals used on the railway including cross-sectional guides. — Working with the industry to develop and broaden the voluntary code of practice. — Trial a process of giving Scrap Metal Dealers information on recent locally stolen metal. — Engaged with the industry of moving to a voluntary cashless business model, with any transaction either paid by cheque or by BACS with full customer details recorded. 4.5 Increasing the risk of the dealers handling stolen metals—place greater responsibility on scrap metal dealers to take all reasonable steps to ensure they are not unintentionally supporting criminal activity.

5. Target Hardening 5.1 BTP has worked in partnership with Network Rail to target harden those areas identified as repeat crime locations. This preventative measure can often mean the burying of cable or securing cable to line-side troughing / housing. It is impractical to implement this measure across the whole of the railway infrastructure (over 10,000 miles) and whilst effective it can displace the crime and for the most determined offenders cable can be ripped from the trackside using 4x4 vehicles. 5.2 In addition BTP has worked closely with Network Rail in trialling DNA technologies which when applied to the company’s metal assets transfer unique marks to those who attempt to steal it. The prevention element here comes from the associated signing that is installed to alert would be thieves of the deployment. Similar to 5.1 it is impracticable to apply this solution to all the metal used across the whole network.

6. Offender Management 6.1 BTP’s arrest rate has increased four-fold. BTP has worked with others to identify the culprits involved in this type of crime. Based on intelligence and profiling those who have been arrested, offenders split into two categories: low level opportunist thieves and organised criminals. 6.2 Low level opportunist thieves have migrated from other forms of acquisitive crime; break-ins, shoplifting and vehicle theft to metal theft as they perceive the risks to be lower and the sanctions less. At a time of economic hardship metal theft is very attractive because the thieves perceive the rewards to be high and the ease with which the metal can be disposed of and converted into cash simply adds to the attraction. In an industry where trading in cash is significant the thieves are aware that there is little opportunity for the police to identify who was paid for what transaction or how much was paid. 6.3 At the organised end the thieves split into two categories, those who are prepared to travel considerable distances to steal and have access to heavy lifting (HIAB) equipment and transportation available. There is evidence of the travelling community operating at this level and an emerging trend of Eastern European nationals. There is also a small element with internal or specialist knowledge—some are employees or former employees / contractors and can provide knowledge around storage depots, sites where metal has been newly installed or provide access skills for there own personal gain or pass the information to others.

7. Enablers 7.1 This submission has stated the value of metal drives this crime and the ease of conversion into cash makes it attractive. However there are certain other areas that provide thieves and dealers with a marked advantage and allow the unscrupulous to benefit from the misery caused to communities and train passengers. Metal Dealers are lax in the record keeping required of them under the Scrap Metal Dealers Act. The Act stipulates that records should be maintained and details certain information that should be recorded for each sale. Poor record keeping with little corroboration of the information supplied provides a deliberate cloak of anonymity to those who sell stolen metal. It makes and police enquiry work almost impossible to identify suspects and differentiate those from legitimate trade. This leads into the real difficulty in tracing metals once cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [O] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/016898_w010_w018b_mark_CTR 14B DfT supplementary.xml

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they have entered the dealers premises and been processed. There are no records maintained that allows metals to be traced back to the seller and without this line of enquiry proving ownership very difficult.

7.2 The significant use of cash in the industry is a temptation to far and at levels leads to widespread scams and fraud. These are operated by employees against customers, against competitors and against employers. They generate significant amounts of money for personal gain and can also bankroll the operating costs of a trader’s business and the recycler’s business. It is why cash is such an important and contentious issue. The presence of cash transactions which facilitate anonymity and close down audit trails create the breeding ground for corruption.

7.3 If the outlets available to dispose of stolen metal were better regulated and controlled, then disposal would be made much more difficult and the operations of the illegal market that exists would be disrupted. Furthermore it would help protect public safety, services and commerce by preventing the thefts.

8. Conclusion

8.1 BTP, like many other forces has worked tirelessly to prevent and disrupt metal theft and reduce the misery it can cause. So far in 2011 BTP have visited 2,150 Scrap Metal Dealers. From target hardening and crime prevention advice to intelligence led operations using the most recent technological DNA techniques to more traditional high profile patrols at hotspots. Cultivated and encouraged the public to report suspicions and worked in partnership with many agencies to bring many disparate powers to bear down on the thieves and the handlers who create and allow the market to flourish. We have more staff dedicated to the tackling the problem and are arresting more and more offenders. However against this backdrop we have a classic supply and demand situation that is driving the price of the commodity higher and a weak legislative framework (See Appendix A) that provides little in the way of deterrent to the thieves and handlers.

8.2 BTP will continue to bring to bear all the techniques and tactics detailed in this submission. However against a backdrop of increasing crime and high commodity prices BTP’s position is that the time has come to consider legislative change. If the outlets available to dispose of stolen metal were better regulated and controlled, then disposal would be made much more difficult and the operations of the illegal market that exists would be disrupted. Furthermore it would help protect public safety, services and commerce by preventing the thefts.

Legislative change is the only way to deal with an offence that is being market driven. (See Appendix A for current legislation).

It is the police position that significant impact could be made against the problem of metal theft if the following regulation were available: — An effective and enforced licensing scheme for metal dealers with the opportunity for a licence to be revoked for non compliance with conditions or for criminal activity. — The requirement within the licence conditions for metal dealers to collect and retain documentary proof of identity and address from all sellers. — A general requirement to exercise due diligence in regard to what a metal dealers buys. — Appropriate penalties available for non compliance with licence conditions or criminal activity that is sufficient to act as a deterrent against the considerable rewards that can be gained. — Options for more stringent conditions to be applied to a licence in the event of non compliance, including: (1) Restrictions on cash transactions. (2) Requirement to retrain metal in the form it is received for a specified period. (3) Requirement to maintain CCTV at weighbridges and pay stations. — The power for the police or other authorised persons to apply for a closure order for an illegally operating metal dealer. Closure would allow the revocation or application of additional conditions. Similar powers exist under the Anti Social Behaviour Act 2003, part 1 in relation to premises where drugs are used and part 6 the environment specifically closure of noisy premises.

If SMDs and other outlets used to sell stolen metal to were better regulated it would make it more difficult to realise the cash value of the metal. The “market” that exists and supports the current wave of criminality would be significantly reduced. If there is no opportunity to convert the goods to cash then the stolen metal becomes valueless and not worth stealing. 31 October 2011 cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [E] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/016898_w010_w018b_mark_CTR 14B DfT supplementary.xml

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British Transport Police Metal Theft Assessment 1. Crime Analysis 1.1 Law Enforcement Overview1 There have been large increases currently being reported for metal theft by police forces across the UK,i with levels remaining high for each of the rail, telecom and power industries. Metal theft is not currently a priority for most police forces apart from British Transport Police (BTP), although a small number have recently raised its profile.ii Metal theft remains one of the largest priorities for power networks, telecoms companies and the railway due to the huge potential for impact affecting their customers. The average detection rate for police recorded metal theft (based on data from five Home Office forces and BTP) in the UK, remains relatively low at 10%.iii Under-reporting and a lack of national standards in data recording results in difficulties in the collation and analysis of thefts, in addition, as metal theft levels increase, fresh difficulties have arisen as many new offenders and issues affect parts of the country. Metal theft is a relative emerging problem to UK policing, coinciding with dramatic changes to global markets and the rollout of modern technologies so reliant on conductive and highly valued metals. Local police force activity has often been found to displace offenders, rather than remove the problem. There is no current or historical regional police perspective on metal theft in the UK due to the lack of previous focus by the regional forces.iv BTP has seen a rising trend of metal theft over the last three years experiencing 2,000 incidents in 2010–11 compared with approximately 1,500 in 2009–10. So far in 2011–12, over 1,400 offences have been reported, suggesting figures will be in excess of previous highs, a trend reflected by police forces and other industries.v The Metal theft is closely tied to market prices and is generally seasonally higher in the summer months. Predictions suggest rising metal prices until at least 2015.vi

1.2 Industry Overview2 1.2.1 Power Companies There has been an increasing trend in the number of metal theft incidents relating to UK power companies, with 5,288 metal theft incidents recorded in 2010 and 4,528 up to the end of September 2011vii suggesting last years figure will be exceeded. The level of incidents started to rise at the start of 2010 and has reached an average of 503 offences a month in 2011 to date.viii

1.2.2 British Telecommunications (BT) There has been a significant increase in attacks on BT’s network across the UK having a direct impact on BT’s customers, and customers of other communications providers. Earlier in 2011 an attack affected emergency services, jeopardised the national air traffic control network, and damaged service to thousands of telephone and broadband customers.ix Customer reported faults have risen by 129%, from 38,000 in 2009–10 to 87,000 in 2010–11.x

1.2.3 Water Companies Fluctuating levels of metal theft have been experienced over the last four years. The level of offences in 2011 has been higher than previously reported for comparative years. This is evidenced by three months of incident data which is higher than the previous 12 months combined.xi

1.2.4 UK Wireless Industry (Covering Broadcasting and Wireless Telecommunications) The UK Wireless Industry suffers from thousands of metal theft offences a year. Alongside disruption to the mobile phone network, Airwave, which provides communication sites to the emergency services (along with TV and Radio Broadcasting services), can also be disrupted. Where mobile phone service is lost it takes an average of 17 days to restore.xii The impact of this is significant: — Threat to public broadcasting services. — Disruption to mobile phone networks. — Compromising the safety of sites where live circuits are left exposed, or unsecured. — Resource impact, where staff are required to attend to carry out servicing and repairs. — Threats towards staff who encounter criminals. — The ongoing cost of targeting metal theft. 1 See appendix 3.1 2 See appendix 3.2 cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [O] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/016898_w010_w018b_mark_CTR 14B DfT supplementary.xml

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1.2.5 Network Rail

Network Rail delay minutes were 365,265 in 2010–11, rising from 283,167 in 2008–09. In total, there were 995 incidents reported to Network Rail in 2010–11, a rise from 742 in 2008–09.xiii The totals so far for 2011–12 suggest that previous peaks of delay minutes and incidents are likely to be surpassed. Financial Year No. of incidents Delay minutes 2008–09 742 283,167 2009–10 656 321,570 2010–11 995 365,265 2011–12 YTD3 625 240,754 Total 3,018 1,211,061

1.2.6 Other

Metal theft is not solely an issue targeting key infrastructure including the power, telecoms and rail networks. Metal theft has progressed in to many sections of society due to the use of high valued commodities commonly used within buildings and the public environment. Metal thieves are resourceful and knowledgeable in knowing what part to target, with anything from manhole covers, brass statues or bus shelters reported stolen. Other commodities have included targeting catalytic converters for the very small amounts of platinum contained within them. This issue has mainly reported in and around Londonxiv and highlights clear specialised knowledge, and the impact it can have with the disabling of a vehicle, for such a small amount of high valued metal. Other commodities also include lead flashing from roofs, which has specifically impacted upon historical buildings including many churches and places of worship. This metal theft has been reported across the country and is probably the best known due to the wide publicity it has received. In general, there has been an emergence of thefts targeting any metal that is deemed to be of value. Where there is lower value, a larger quantity of the commodity is often stolen to mark up the money received from selling to scrap.

1.3 Geographical Distribution

Geographical distribution of metal theft remains difficult to ascertain due to the lack of uniformity in recording of offences by Home Office police forces. However, there are clear geographic profiles for the type of commodity targeted, such as the rail industry, and power networks. These are often embedded in regions which have a long history around the metal industry, with the infrastructure such as mining and production in addition to individuals who have the accompanying knowledge.

The rail industry, for example, has disproportionately seen the North East area of England subject to cable thefts. A key driver to this is believed to be the established metal trade in the area and the prevalence of Scrap Metal Dealerships / Merchants. This issue is highly concentrated in Northumbria, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Cleveland and Durham, which have seen the largest amount of offences. An established hotspot identified over the last three years, shows a 20 miles square area, which covers Knottingley, Castleford and Doncaster, accounting for around 20% of total railway related metal theft in the UK.xv

The power industry has seen a slightly different geographical profile. Analysis of a years worth of SIRS data (the Energy Network Association Security industry Reporting System) has identified the South East as being largely affected. The targeted commodity in these regions, has predominantly been electric substations, which have affected energy supply. The counties most affected are Kent and Essex, along with Greater London, in addition to the large urban areas, such as the West Midlands, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, and South Yorkshire.xvi

Data for general metal theft is difficult to compare and analyse. Based on a request for data in July/August 2011, two forces had the largest impact, reporting over 650 crimes in a year period. A number of other forces reported significant amounts of with over 350 crimes each. Anecdotal evidence obtained from investigators within Home Office forces suggest that specific metal theft issues can often be very localised, targeting specific commodities with a specific method, such as Iron cladding from roof tops or steel bus shelters. It appears to show that a distinct criminal profile is related to specific crime trends, where a particular offender is often responsible for targeting a commodity that requires specialised knowledge of what to target, and how to remove it.xvii

1.4 Suspect / Criminal Business Profile

Metal theft can generally be split into two categories, individuals and groups. The latter group can be further split, into two distinct sub-groups “Internal” and “External”. Individuals usually offend at a local level, whereas groups, or organised crime groups (OCGs) have been seen to offend across boundaries of many counties and police forces. 3 2011–12 Network Rail Data up until 02/11/2011 cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [E] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/016898_w010_w018b_mark_CTR 14B DfT supplementary.xml

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1.4.1 Offender Profile BTP data indicates that the majority of incidents involving this form of crime are perpetrated by local offenders. This correlates well with Home Office Force reporting which suggests that much of their metal theft problem is carried out by local Prolific & Priority Offenders (PPOs). These are often a small proportion of criminals who commit the largest amount of offences. Such offenders tend to be white males in their 20’s or 30’s, with a history of “traditional” acquisitive crime from where they have progressed onto the targeting of metal. This may be as a result of seeing metal theft as a low-risk crime in terms of detection and punishment when compared to other acquisitive crime. The occupation of offenders varies depending on region from mainly unemployed, to employment within the building trade or construction industry, suggesting that they may have knowledge of metal and what to take. Dip sample analysis of offenders shows that 80% of persons linked to BTP cable theft, live within 6 miles of the crime location.xviii This is believed to be due to the ease at which possible metal is available to steal, rather than a lack of commitment to travel. Home Office forces report similar trends with the majority of their offences often being committed by small groups acting independently and often opportunistic in nature. However, when particular commodities are targeted, such as gold, catalytic converters, and other higher value metals, then there are indications of more coordinated offenders, sometimes involving crime groups.

1.4.2 Organised Crime Groups (Level 2) Metal theft on a grander scale tends to be as a result of the involvement of more organised groups, often referred to as Organised Crime Groups (OCG’s). These operate with cross-border links, often with access to specialist knowledge and equipment to enable them to deal with the technicalities of “live” cable (conducting electricity)and/or the quantities involved. The age range of those within these groups is predominantly between 20 to 50 years old.xix Such groups not only impact both the rail and telecommunications networks, but will also attack other targets including the power industry. This type of offender is committed and willing to travel long distances to specifically target high value goods. Internal (Industry based): Industry based groups tend to use their intimate knowledge of their respective networks to acquire and dispose of materials for their own personal gain. These groups are highly organised with involvement being largely dictated by the individual’s role and/or position within the organisation. They utilise their positions to access vulnerable material (ie at locations where engineering work is in progress), often using legitimate vehicles, such as those which would not look out of place. Such groups often utilise favoured scrap metal dealers and routinely “skim off the top” from illegal sales of stolen material. For Instance, it is thought that a number of metal thefts are as a result of “internal theft”. The specialised knowledge of these groups built over many years, and the progression of criminals targeting increased valued metals, suggests that the risk of metal theft will only increase in the future due to more people gaining industry experience. External: These type of offenders are known to travel considerable distances in order to commit crimes. Traditionally they have taken what would appear to be an opportunist approach to the crime, stealing metal if available whilst carrying out other criminal activity. If discovered or challenged, such individuals have been known to offer a distraction type excuse for their presence, or in some cases have used intimidation and/or physical violence to secure their escape. More recently there appears to be a more organised approach to such criminality by a number of these groups, brought on by the greater level of skill required to conduct such thefts and the greater rewards on offer due to the price that the commodity now commands. Overall, analysis of data available shows that metal theft is emerging as a viable alternative to other forms of acquisitive crime to low level criminals. Police forces report more persons coming to notice for cable theft including those without criminal histories or with previous convictions for acquisitive crime.xx Those that are involved in the more high value thefts and crime series have previous convictions for other acquisitive crimes, or show progression from low level metal theft offences. Repeat offending does appear to be an issue, with some offenders often coming to notice for multiple offences after police activity. Offences that are opportunistic in nature, which are committed by low level criminals, can be of very small value, but of high consequence. The more serious offences, including the removal or theft of vast amounts of metal, are the most significant monetary loss, and are committed by the more organised element. These groups have specialised knowledge and tools to carry out such offences. Some of the more organised sections have links within the metal industry, or the targeted industries, which aid the theft, removal and disposal of stolen goods. Analysis of the organised groups, shows that these are present through most parts of the country, but are also concentrated in areas which have strong residual links with the metal industry.

1.5 Organised Crime Group Assessment OCGs predominantly commit large scale thefts and target high value metal. The most valuable metals are often linked to key infrastructure, such as the rail network and power and telecoms industry.xxi Emerging items of property targeted are electricity substations, catalytic converters, bus shelters, manhole covers and shopping trolleys. Some crimes committed by these groups have required the use and knowledge of specialised equipment, such as winding materials or plant vehicles. There have been suggestions that foreign offenders are shipping material to be laundered through continental scrap dealers. cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [O] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/016898_w010_w018b_mark_CTR 14B DfT supplementary.xml

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Metal theft OCGs are often responsible for the most high value thefts but any theft can result in considerable impact to the rail, telecoms or power industries. Disposal occurs predominantly through the UK scrap network, with movements oversees propelled by the global metal markets. Investigative options range from targeting basic substantive enquiries, to more complex conspiracy charges for the most prolific groups. The latter is mainly pursued by the forces which have the required knowledge and experience of successfully obtaining such results, such as BTP or those HO forces with dedicated units.

2. Market Analysis4 2.1 Commodity Prices and the World Marketxxii As of October 2011, the availability of scrap has tightened due to merchants retaining materials for which they paid more than they can currently sell them for. The dearth of scrap in China could also see a reduction that will support cathode demand. Global copper demand remains relatively strong, however many consumers are becoming more cautious and the price has recently become much more volatile as a result of the continuing Eurozone debacle. There is expected to be an increased demand for copper into 2012 with an easing of temporary restrictions on housing construction in China. The low worldwide inventory of copper availability similarly squeezes the demand and should cause an inflation of copper prices to exceed or at least stabilise at the $5,500 per tonne mark. When coupled with increasing labour costs for miners, continuing miner strikes and disruptions caused from ore grade declines, metal commodity markets and in particular copper demand is expected to increase into 2012, driving a demand that will be met to an extent by the criminal engagement in theft of metals.

2.2 The Scrap Metal Industry There are 3,590 registered SMDs in the UK: 2,190 with full licences, 1,400 with paragraph 45 exemption and 180 illegal sites. It is further believed that there are equal numbers of itinerant scrap dealers bringing the total to over 4,000.xxiii

2.3 UK Ports of Leave There are a number of ports that could be used in the export of metal from the UK. Felixstowe is the major export port of leave in the UK and handled 700 export shipments of scrap metal over the last 12 months; Southampton has the second largest amount with 290 exports, followed by Belfast with 90. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) indicate there are just over 50 companies involved in the exportation of scrap metal from the UK.xxiv Once the metal is received overseas, very little is known about specific movements.

3. Appendix 3.1 National Law Enforcement Trends BRITISH TRANSPORT POLICE METAL THEFT CRIME COUNT AND COPPER MARKET PRICES (01/ 01/2007 TO 10/10/2011) Cable / Copper Theft Comparison with Trade Market Trends (01/01/07 - 10/10/11) (Source: London Metal Exchange (LME)) Copper p/tonne* 340 320 10000 300 280 260 8000 240 220 200 6000 180 160

No of Crimes of No 140 4000 120 100 80 60 2000 40 20 0 0 Jan-07 Feb-07 Mar-07 Apr-07 May-07 Jun-07 Jul-07 Aug-07 Sept 07 Oct-07 Nov-07 Dec-07 Jan-08 Feb-08 Mar-08 Apr-08 May-08 Jun-08 Jul-08 Aug-08 Sep-08 Oct-08 Nov-08 Dec-08 Jan-09 Feb-09 Mar-09 Apr-09 May-09 Jun-09 Jul-09 Aug-09 Sep-09 Oct-09 Nov-09 Dec-09 Jan-10 Feb-10 Mar-10 Apr-10 May-10 Jun-10 Jul-10 Aug-10 Sep-10 Oct-10 Nov-10 Dec-10 Jan-11 Feb-11 Mar-11 Apr-11 May-11 Jun-11 Jul-11 Aug-11 Sep-11 Oct-11

No of Crimes Copper US $ p/tonne* £ equivilent*

4 See appendix 3.3 cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [E] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/016898_w010_w018b_mark_CTR 14B DfT supplementary.xml

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THE AVERAGE LEVEL OF METAL THEFT IN UK POLICE FORCES AND THE PRICE OF COPPER (01/01/2007 TO 30/06/2011) Cable/Copper Theft Comparison with Trade Market Trends - 01/10/10-30/06/11 (Source: London Metal Exchange (LME)) Copper p/tonne* 380 12000 360 340 320 10000 300 280 260 8000 240 224 220 220 145 206 187 200 180 176 165 168 6000 180 162 158 142 148 160 No. of Crimes 143 143 140 120 140 4000 93 106 100 80 60 2000 40 20 0 0 Jan 10 Feb 10 Mar 10 Apr 10 May 10 Jun 10 Jul 10 Aug 10 Sep 10 Oct 10 Nov 10 Dec 10 Jan 11 Feb 11 Mar 11 Apr 11 May 11 Jun 11

Average (Crimes) Copper US $ p/tonne* £ equivilent*

Type of Metal Home Office forces report that copper and lead are the commodities targeted the most often. The former is specifically targeted through the targeting of infrastructure and industrial premises; the latter is a residential/ domestic issue (shops, houses, flats, gardens, sheds or vacant premises) but is still significant in places. Some forces report that almost all the thefts are lead whereas others report an equal balance of lead and copper theft. On average over 50% of metal stolen from Home Office forces is lead, although copper does figure highly amongst the other metal targeted (30%). British Transport Police (BTP) and industries such as Telecommunications and Power companies see a much larger proportion of theft of copper. Other metals targeted within Home Office force areas (but to a much lesser extent) are steel, aluminium, iron and brass. Home office forces see three distinct types of metal theft; theft from industrial premises and sites, thefts from domestic premises and thefts targeting metals in open and public places (the latter often impacting on local services). Copper theft is specifically stolen from industrial premises and infrastructure, which can often affect local services such as water, gas, telecommunications and power. The most significant impact, in terms of service delivery and cost has been to the telecommunications industry. Item Targeted — The key property targeted varies somewhat by force and area although there are commonalities and trends. — In general, all forces identify new, unoccupied or derelict buildings as targeted. — Lead is targeted on roofs and windows of buildings. — Electricity substations are specifically targeted, particularly in the south of England. The removal of earthing cable has been noted in this. — The targeting of catalytic converters has been identified as an emerging issue in the East Midlands and the North East, while it has been identified as a long term issue by many other forces in the South East. This reflects trends seen by BTP with North and East London being the areas most affected. All have very low recovery rates and are targeted due to their small content of platinum which is an expensive precious metal. Emerging Trends — Bus Shelters—affecting mostly North-Eastern boroughs of Greater London. Items stolen include timetable and poster frames (aluminium).xxv — Cabinet Doors made of steel or iron.xxvi — Bulk theft of shopping trolleys (in a recent incident three supermarkets were targeted with a cost of £100,000 to replace the trolleys). — Business skips. — The removal of manhole covers. cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [O] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/016898_w010_w018b_mark_CTR 14B DfT supplementary.xml

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3.2 National Industry Trends Power Company Metal Theft Incident Count (Oct 2008 to Sep 2011)

600

500

400

300

Incident Count 200

100

0

Oct-08Dec-08Feb-09Apr-09Jun-09Aug-09Oct-09Dec-09Feb-10Apr-10Jun-10Aug-10Oct-10Dec-10Feb-11Apr-11Jun-11Aug-11 Month/Year

SIRS — The Suspicious Incident Reporting System (SIRS) captures metal theft related incidents reported to power and telecommunications companies, along with some data from water companies.

Power Companies — 95% of metal stolen from the power industry is copper. — Electricity substations are a key target for power industry thefts, with a key MO of removal of earthing cable. This is particular high in the south of England, where in places it is reported to be a large scale, long term and growing problem.

Ecclesiastical Insurance

The number of metal theft claims from churches in the UK was 1,700 in 2010; as of June 2011 there was 1,600 claims. Therefore figures for 2011 are predicted to be double those seen in 2010. The company report that every diocese in the country has been affected in some way by metal theft.

3.3 Original Collection Plan Contributor List ACPOS Strategic Development Essex Police Scottish Water Department Avon and Somerset Police Hertfordshire Police Serious Organised Crime Agency British Metals Recycling HMRC South Yorkshire Police Association British Telecom Kent Police South West Regional Intelligence Unit British Transport Police Lancashire Police Southern Water British Transport Police Authority Leicestershire Police Strathclyde Police Business and Retail Crime, Lincolnshire Police Surrey Police Acquisitive Crime Team, Organised and Financial Crime Unit, Crime Directorate, Home Office Central Scotland Police London Regional Intelligence Sussex Police Unit City of London Police Lothian and Borders Police Thames Valley Police Cleveland Police Merseyside Police Transport for London Copper Development Association Metropolitan Police Service UK Power Networks Cumbria Police National Policing Improvement Western Power Agency Cross Industry Metal Theft Network Rail West Midlands Police Lobbying Group CRU New Zealand Police West Yorkshire Police Durham Police North East Regional Yorkshire Water Intelligence Unit East Midlands Regional Intelligence North Yorkshire Police Yorkshire and Humber Regional Unit Intelligence Unit cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [E] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/016898_w010_w018b_mark_CTR 14B DfT supplementary.xml

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Eggborough Power North West Regional Intelligence Unit Energy Networks Association Polprimmet Environment Agency Rail Safety and Standards Board

4. References i Home Office Force Collection Plan Responses, August 2011 ii Home Office Force Collection Plan Responses, August 2011 iii Home Office Force Collection Plan Responses, August 2011—Avon and Somerset, Lancashire, North Yorkshire, Sussex, MPS and BTP iv RIU Collection Plan Responses v Metal Theft Analysis, October 2011, BTP Op Leopard FHQ vi Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). vii Business and Retail Crime, Acquisitive Crime Team, Organised and Financial Crime Unit, Crime Directorate, Home Office viii Energy Networks Association (ENA), Cross Industry Metal Theft Lobbying Groups paper on the impact of metal theft on represented industries ix Cross Industry Metal Theft Lobbying Groups paper on the impact of metal theft on represented industries x Business and Retail Crime, Acquisitive Crime Team, Organised and Financial Crime Unit, Crime Directorate, Home Office xi Water Companies Collection Plan Response, August 2011 xii ENA, Cross Industry Metal Theft Lobbying Groups paper on the impact of metal theft on represented industries xiii Network Rail, Cross Industry Metal Theft Lobbying Groups paper on the impact of metal theft on represented industries xiv Email Correspondence, BTP London North, theft from catalytic converters xv Metal Theft Analysis, October 2011, BTP Op Leopard FHQ xvi BTP Op Leopard FHQ Analysis, October 2011 of Energy Networks Association—Suspicious Incident Reporting system xvii Home Office Force Collection Plan Responses, August 2011 xviii BTP, analysis of cable offences, August 2011. xix Offender profile information received form South Yorkshire Police, October 2011 xx Email Correspondence, Tony Foster, MPS. xxi BTP ACPO Metal Theft Problem Profile, December 2010 xxii CRU Monitor—Copper Overview, October 2011 xxiii Information from the Environment Agency given to the Home Office, August 2011 xxiv HMRC for 1 August 2010 to 31 July 2011 indicates the level of declared exports form the UK. xxv TfL, Crime and Disorder Assessment, email correspondence, August 2011. xxvi Virgin Media

British Transport Police Metal Theft Briefing (Legislative Review) Introduction This document provides an overview of the legislation used by law enforcement agencies in the UK to tackle metal theft. It details the main user or responsible enforcement agency and summarises the main aspects of the legislation and the penalties provided. There is a review which highlights some limitations of the existing legislation in supporting criminal investigation and prosecutions for metal theft related crime. cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [O] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/016898_w010_w018b_mark_CTR 14B DfT supplementary.xml

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Context There is a growing National problem caused by thefts of metals. These crimes are largely fuelled by increased global commodity prices. Metal theft affects all aspects of the community, industry and commerce. Local communities are reporting substantial increases in the theft of copper, aluminium and lead. The thefts particularly affect key UK infrastructure; telecommunications, transport, electricity, gas and water utilities, and have the potential to lead to the loss of services, create a danger to public safety, and pose a serious risk to the UK economy. The perpetrators of metal related crimes place themselves and others in grave danger; they enter dangerous environments in order to steal metal motivated by the cash value of the metal. The value of the metal is driven by global supply and demand. The cost to industry and society is disproportionately high, often referred to as the “ripple effect”, compared to the value of the stolen metal. Police are arresting increasing numbers of metal thieves. However, the scale of offending would suggest that for the offender the reward outweighs the risk and that the sanctions available and imposed by Courts do not act as a deterrent to the thief. It is entirely appropriate therefore that the industry into which the thief sells or disposes of the stolen metal should be scrutinised to ensure that there are no inherent vulnerabilities that act as enablers. Metal recycling is a highly competitive industry. The presence of significant amounts of cash leads to widespread practice of scams. These are operated by employees against customers, against competitors and against employers. And can generate significant amounts of money for personal gain and can also bankroll the operating costs of a customer’s business and the recycler’s business. It is why cash is such an important and contentious issue. Preventative or detection methods—not just by the police, but recycling companies trying to stamp out crime—are often compromised by the presence of cash transactions which facilitate anonymity and close down audit trails and so offer the unscrupulous individual ample opportunity. Scams, whatever character they adopt are better described as cheating and criminal behaviour, often consisting of the manipulation of a record of weight or quality to create a financial advantage. If the outlets available to dispose of stolen metal were better regulated and controlled, then disposal would be made much more difficult and the operations of the illegal market that exists would be disrupted. Furthermore it would help protect public safety, services and commerce by preventing the thefts.

Current Legislation The following summarises existing legislation and potential application. From a crime reduction perspective, it is the police position that significant impact could be made against this problem if the following regulation was available; — Requirement to secure and retain proof of identity of carriers or receivers of metal waste. — CCTV at Scrap Metal Dealer (SMD) sites. — Electronic record keeping by SMDs. — A cashless business operating model for the Scrap Metal industry. — Suspicious activity reporting by SMDs. — Opportunity to rapidly close sites engaged in unlawful activity. There are benefits that increased regulation would bring; — Greater transparency and traceability of business transactions through the use of more robust identification requirements from sellers would reduce the anonymity that cash transactions presently permit. — It would reduce the likelihood of SMDs receiving stolen metals and increase the likelihood of police or other law enforcement agencies being able to trace sellers, increase the intelligence picture and take proactive enforcement action. — The modernisation of record keeping and greater transparency of each transaction and a move away from cash would reduce the opportunities for cheating and result in increased tax revenue. — The power to temporarily close licensed SMDs, not unlike powers afforded to the police in relation to other licensed premises would be used proportionately and most likely rarely. Use of this power, taken at a senior level (Superintendent) would provide a remedy when self regulation has been unsuccessful. The review of legislation has sought to identify existing enforcement or regulatory options that could be utilised to deliver these requirements. There are many regulations applicable to this area of trade, but very few are of use in this context, and are therefore not listed. cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [E] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/016898_w010_w018b_mark_CTR 14B DfT supplementary.xml

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Legislation Enforcement Body Requirement Penalties Town & Country Local Authority Requires SMD’s to Planning Control S.215 Notice Untidy Planning Act 1990 Planning Inspectorate apply to local planning Land. Planning and (Independent office to seek Enforcement notice S.172—where Compensation Act Government Body) for permission to use land planning permission not correctly 1991 appeals process to run a scrap metal applied for, LA can serve enforcement business notice on landowner to return land to previous state. (Landowner has right of appeal to Planning Inspectorate;10 wk-12 month process) Environmental Environment Agency Requires SMD’s to S.33 (1) (a), (6) & (8) Environmental Protection Act (E&W) have an environmental Protection Act 1990—knowingly 1990 Scottish permit or a registered permitting the deposition of controlled Environmental Environmental exemption. EA may waste, or knowingly causing the Permitting (Eng & Protection Agency only grant a permit deposition of controlled waste. Wales) where relevant planning Summary conviction: 12 months Regulations 2007 permission in place imprisonment and or fine not exceeding £50,000 Indictment: five years imprisonment; and or unlimited fine. S.34(c) details how an enforcement authority must deal with property seized under S.3 (b) Environmental Protection Act 1990. This Section came into force 03/2006 in Wales and as at May 2008 is still in force in Wales only Control of Environment Agency Requires SMD’s to be a Summary conviction: maximum Pollution registered carrier when £5,000 fine. (Amended) Act transporting waste for 1989 profit or gain Scrap Metal Local Authority Requires SMD’s to S1(7) Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 Dealers Act 1964 Police notify Local Authority S2(6) Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 that they are conducting Summary non-imprisonable fine not the business of a SMD exceeding level 3 (£1000) on Requires SMD’s to legislative standard scale. keep a bound book at Failing to maintain proper records— each SMD site with fine £1,000. details of description, weight, date and time of receipt; full name and address of person received from; price payable, if any, or estimated value; registration mark of any vehicle delivering scrap metal cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [O] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/016898_w010_w018b_mark_CTR 14B DfT supplementary.xml

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Legislation Enforcement Body Requirement Penalties Theft Act 1968 Police Section 1 of 1968 Act Conviction on indictment liable to Common law provides that “A person imprisonment for a term not exceeding (Scotland Only) is guilty of theft if he seven years. dishonestly appropriates Conviction on indictment liable to property belonging to imprisonment for a term not exceeding another with the fourteen years. intention of permanently depriving the other of it” Section 22 of the 1968 Act provides that “A person handles stolen goods if (otherwise than in the course of the stealing) knowing or believing them to be stolen goods he dishonestly receives the goods, or dishonestly undertakes or assists in their retention, removal, disposal or realisation by or for the benefit of another person, or if he arranges to do so”

Town & Country Planning Act 1990

A Consolidation Act aimed at control in the context of building, planning and hazardous substances. Where it appears to a local planning authority that there may have been a breach of planning control in respect of any land then they may serve an enforcement notice to that effect.

Any such notice can be subject to an appeal process which can make the whole enforcement process protracted. There is little evidence to suggest that using the legislation against SMDs is a priority for overstretched planning departments, particularly at a time when the public sector is faced with making efficiency savings.

Environmental Protection Act 1990 & Permitting Regulations

This is an Act to make provision for improved control of pollution arising from certain industrial processes relating to waste on land. The powers are enforceable by officers of the Environment Agency (EA), Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) and Northern Ireland equivalent.

The Regulations make it an offence to operate as a waste carrier without a permit or otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of the permit. This requires the completion of a waste transfer document for each transaction, which in turn requires the collection of identification information. These appear useful provisions and include penalties of 12 month imprisonment on summary conviction and five years on indictment. However, there remain several barriers to effective use by Police: — A significant proportion of the SMD community is afforded an exemption from permit requirements because they fall below the criteria of tonnage through-put. — Enforcement is the responsibility of the EA and SEPA staff. — The legislation is intended to reduce environmental issues and that is where enforcement is focussed by the responsible agencies. It does not cover metal theft. — The EA and SEPA have limited resources that are trained and equipped to deal with their priority of environmental investigations. — The collection of identity details for the completion of the waste transfer notices does not require documentary support and therefore it is relatively easy to side-step the provisions. — While both agencies work in partnership with police their focus will not extend to criminal investigation of metal theft. Officers of these agencies see their role more as supporting and providing alternative prosecution routes to the outdated Scrap Metal Dealers Act or to overcome the difficulties faced in proving dishonesty required in other legislation. cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [E] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/016898_w010_w018b_mark_CTR 14B DfT supplementary.xml

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Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 The Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 provides that every local authority maintains a register of persons carrying on business in their area as scrap metal dealers. Anyone carrying out the business as a scrap metal dealer in the area of a local authority area has to have appropriate details relating to that person entered in the register. The process of registration has no cost attached to it and provides no revenue generation for the local authority. As a consequence, there is a lack of financial incentive for the local authority to proactively address scrap dealers who do not register. Recent initiatives indicate local authority lists or registers of SMDs are inaccurate and incomplete. The Act itself is limited in scope, with no power to revoke registration and no power to close SMDs found trading in contravention of the Act. In particular it provides no police enforcement opportunity for those who choose not to register. The Act provides a power for the police to enter and inspect registered SMD sites and inspect records held on those sites. It offers no specific power to search the premises. In order to do this the police must first obtain a warrant from a court. The Act also provides that every SMD shall keep a book and record details in respect of transactions made including the following: (1) The description and weight of the metal. (2) The date and time of receipt of the metal. (3) If the metal is received from another person the name and address of that person. (4) The price of the metal if known at the time the entry is made. (5) If no price has been ascertained, the estimated value. (6) The registration mark of any vehicle used to deliver the scrap metal. However, there is no requirement on the SMD to check the accuracy of information recorded (at 3) or to seek any corroboration of that information. This can and does compromise the audit trail and can prevent the police from identifying the legitimacy of transactions and original ownership of the metal. In 2011 British Transport Police instigated proceedings for 62 breaches of the SMD Act. There are a number of other weaknesses within the SMD Act which impact on its effectiveness: — The level of fine for breaching the requirement to register is up to £1,000. — Failing to maintain proper records carries a fine of up to £1,000. — There is no power to close SMDs that do not comply with the Act. — Registration can not be revoked. The enduring high price of metal, increased turnover and margins in the scrap metal industry make the sentencing guidelines appear disproportionately low and outdated. In 2010 the average fine handed down as part of sentencing to a SMD was £379. This clearly does not serve as a deterrent. Put simply the limitations of any sanction that can be imposed on a SMD for breaching the SMD Act is small in comparison to companies’ turnover. Working with the existing legislation and the perceived inherent weaknesses in the SMD Act the police more and more often look to utilise other legislation that provides increased powers and sanctions. It should be recognised that the SMD Act legislation is outdated, enacted almost half a century ago, before globalisation had the impact on local recycling markets that it now has.

Theft Act 1968 The Theft Act is the principal legislation used by police when SMDs are apprehended on suspicion of involvement in metal theft. Proffering charges under this legislation is not always straightforward, particularly in the context of the trade in scrap metal. One of the main parts of the Theft Act used when dealing with SMDs suspected of criminality is section 22—handling stolen goods. A person is said to “know” that goods are stolen when he is told by someone with first hand knowledge, eg the thief or burglar. Belief is something short of knowledge where a person could not be certain that the goods are stolen but there could be no other reasonable conclusion, in light of all the circumstances, of what he had heard, seen and price paid. Either of these two states is enough to satisfy knowing or believing. A mere suspicion is insufficient, eg the goods may or may not be stolen. Identifying ownership in the case of theft is a key point and this also applies to a case of handling. It is clear that in using the Theft Act 1968 there are a number of practical difficulties that the police face in relation to proving an original theft or that the SMD knew or believed that metal was stolen. They include: — Metal that has been burnt by a thief to remove any ownership markings. — Poor SMD records make identifying who sold the metal difficult. — Metal that is identifiable but can not be proved to have been stolen because of poor record keeping. cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [O] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/016898_w010_w018b_mark_CTR 14B DfT supplementary.xml

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— SMDs historic associations with small trades referred to as “walk ups” which make identification of an owner difficult to establish. — The industry’s significant cash-rich transaction environment make the identification of a seller challenging. — SMDs can legitimately claim that they neither “knew nor believed” an item to be stolen and let the prosecution prove otherwise.

Confiscation under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) 2002 POCA provides a complete statutory framework for the making of confiscation orders against those convicted of all offences. Legal advice obtained by police suggests that convictions of SMD and individuals of a section 1 offence under the SMD Act can permit an application at a Crown Court for confiscation under POCA. These are protracted investigations involving specialist financial investigators and detailed enquiry work to establish the benefit received from a criminal lifestyle.

Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs HMRC has criminal investigation powers and can consider commencing a criminal rather than civil investigation under certain circumstances including where there has been deliberate concealment, deception, conspiracy or corruption is suspected or where money laundering or forgery is suspected. HMRC will look to register SMDs and others as high-value dealers under the money laundering regulations however their main thrust is about educating and helping business with a lesser focus on enforcement and prosecution. Any such investigations are likely to be protracted because of the complexity and availability of HMRC staff. If targeted at SMDs the scope for enforcement action would be limited due to the scale of the industry and number of SMDs operating.

Conclusion There is a range of legislation that can be applied to metal theft and in particular to SMDs. There are a number of agencies who have statutory powers that can be brought to bear and impact on metal theft. Many of these powers and laws were never intended by legislators to be used in such a manner. This is partly the reason why there is a perception that regulation of the metal industry is a crowed place in terms of both legislation and enforcement bodies. The reality however is that the key issues in combating metal theft; the traceability of metal and the accuracy of information recorded by those involved in the trade of metal is not sufficiently expressed and required in existing legislation and therefore does not ensure either of these two issues is addressed. Different agencies (not all of whom have enforcement as their top priority) working together to bring disparate pieces of legislation and powers to bear on a cash-rich industry at the centre of a supply and demand- led price inflated commodity, is not an effective solution to combat metal theft. Particularly at a time of economic hardship a new solution is required to reduce the prevalence of metal theft and minimise the harm it is doing to industry and communities. If SMDs and other outlets used to sell stolen metal to were better regulated it would make it more difficult to realise the cash value of the metal. The “market” that exists and supports the current wave of criminality would be significantly reduced. If there is no opportunity to convert the goods to cash then the stolen metal becomes valueless and not worth stealing.

Further written evidence from the British Transport Police (CTR 11A) Operation Tornado In response to the increasing problem of metal theft that BTP and Home Office force are facing an Identification Measures Trial has been introduced by ACPO, BTP, British Metal Recyclers Association (BMRA), Northumbria, Durham and Cleveland police. The trial will support each of the forces in tackling metal theft and make it easier to trace sellers and dealers of stolen material. BTP is leading on the project and the trial will considerably strengthen the requirement outlined in the existing legislation in terms of identification from sellers. The exchange of metal for cash will require scrutiny of identification documents by dealers and discourage those wishing to avoid police attention from selling their metal. All documentation will be copied and retained for twelve months and be available for inspection by the police and supporting agencies. The trial area was selected following consultation with BTP, BMRA, ACPO and the Home Office. Consideration was given to; levels of crime relating to metal theft within the region, interoperability of forces and the risk associated with displacement. BTP and the regional police forces visited every metal recycler within the region to encourage participation in the trial. The trial has also identified a weakness in terms of intelligence within the region which has now been addressed through the development of data sharing protocols, the formation of a regional task force and the work of BTP’s Fusion centre. The standardisation of dealer cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [E] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/016898_w010_w018b_mark_CTR 14B DfT supplementary.xml

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categorisation has been adopted within the region which enables enforcement activity to be directed, focused and efficient in terms of talking criminality.

The Identification Measures Trial commenced on 3 January 2012 and will initially run for a period of 6 months within Northumbria, Durham and Cleveland police force areas. Metal recycling sites who participate in the trial will be required to adopt the following additional measures to identify sellers:

1. Evidence of identity will be required from all persons disposing of metals for cash payment. (a) UK photocard driving licence (includes address) or, (b) UK passport or original passport from any nationality, or official national identity card supported by a utility bill. (not more than three months old to the current date) showing the seller’s current address. The yard will record each document presented by obtaining a copy which will be retained for inspection by the police and other agencies (e.g. passport, driving licence and utility bill). The photo ID will be required on each and every transaction. The ID will be copied and either physically or electronically stored with the record of transaction for a minimum period of 12 months.

2. Failure by the seller to produce identification (in line with the requirements in point 1) would result in no transaction taking place.

3. CCTV systems should cover entrances and weighbridges of recycling centres and the images should be of sufficient quality to enable identification of vehicle registrations numbers and secure facial recognition. The recorded images will be retained for a minimum of 28 days.

4. Posters describing the identification measures in force will be prominently displayed to sellers.

5. When buying from other merchants, participating companies will endeavour to promote participation in the trial and to deal wherever possible with others taking part.

North Yorkshire, Humberside and Cumbria Police are adopting the identification measures in anticipation of a national roll out during 2012 which includes the standardisation of dealer categorisation in line with the regional trial.

The BMRA acknowledges the impact of metal theft and fully support the introduction of the voluntary measures trial. They see Operation Tornado as an opportunity for the industry to demonstrate its commitment to tackling the growing problem of metal theft have indicated that they would support a national roll out of the trial once the initial success of the measures had been assessed. They also see their support and participation as an opportunity to retain an involvement in the proposed legislative review which is being considered.

The majority of dealers within the region support the trial, although there are a small number who refuse to operate outside existing legislation. These yards will be encouraged to participate and may find they are subject to increased police activity. The industry has indicated that a significant reduction in trade would result in a re assessment of their involvement Operation Tornado. However, this may be deployed as a tactic by certain sections of the industry as an exit strategy, whilst at the same time demonstrating an initial support for the aims of the trial.

The participation rates are as follows;

Northumbria—69 registered dealers with 80% signed up to the trial.

Durham—44 registered dealers with 86% signed up to the trial.

Cleveland—46 registered dealers with 83% signed up to the trial.

It is anticipated this attrition rate will pass 90% by 15 January as increased enforcement activity within the region takes effect.

Enforcement and compliance activity will commence week commencing 9 January 2012 with the emphasis on supporting the industry in the first instance. The enforcement activity will be focused on ensuring that dealers who are participating in the trial are compiling with the terms and conditions, with enforcement focusing on those who sit outside Operation Tornado. 3 January 2012 cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [O] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/016898_w010_w018b_mark_CTR 14B DfT supplementary.xml

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Written evidence from the Department for Transport (CTR 14) Issue/Impact 1. The national rail network is suffering substantial and growing damage from the theft of metal, particularly cable (as to varying degrees are other transport sectors and other parts of the economy, and indeed other economies globally). Given the wide geographical spread and exposure of the rail network, and its reliance on cabling for signalling and power, theft is both extremely difficult to prevent and has a disproportionately severe impact on the railway and its users. Ultimately there is a real concern that metal theft, by damaging this key national infrastructure and reducing its reliability, may result in an adverse impact on growth and the economy. 2. In 2010–11, Network Rail incurred costs of £16.5 million in repairing damage from cable theft and in compensating operators for the delays (of over 6,000 hours during the year) arising from thefts. This represented an increase from £14.0 million in 2009–10 and £12.3 million in 2008–09. In addition to the direct costs on Network Rail, the Department has estimated that there was an economic cost to passengers and freight users of some £10 million during 2010–11. 3. The industry is now suffering several theft or attempted theft incidents a day, and trains are currently being cancelled at levels in excess of 500 per month. Recent high-profile cases include ones at Woking on 9 June and at London Bridge on 6 September, each of which resulted in over 10,000 minutes of delay to trains. Even if cable is cut but not taken—for instance if the thieves discover it is not copper—the disruption and cost of repair can be just as severe. 4. Annex 1 provides further information about the scale of the cost and delay impacts on Network Rail.

Action in hand 5. With the strong support of Ministers, Network Rail (NR) and the British Transport Police (BTP) are in the forefront of efforts to tackle the metal theft problem, and working closely with other police forces and agencies. At national level, the approach is to look for measures to make metal more difficult to steal, to increase the risk of offenders being successfully prosecuted, to reduce the rewards from stealing metal, and to raise standards within the scrap metal industry. 6. The BTP has a lead role in preventing and detecting cable theft on the railway. Cable theft is its second highest priority, after counter-terrorism. In response to the issue, BTP: — has set up a dedicated task force, has increased patrols and has targeted irresponsible scrap dealers; — has raised the profile of the issue within the police service and leads on metal theft nationally for the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), working closely with other forces; — chairs ACPO’s metal theft working group, which provides a high-level national forum bringing together senior police forces, infrastructure providers and Government Departments and agencies to drive concerted action to tackle the problem; — is working closely with the British Metal Recycling Association (BMRA) to educate scrap metal dealers about stolen metal. BMRA has produced a code of conduct for their members; — undertakes pro-active enforcement, both covert and overt, and seizes stolen cable whenever it is found; — uses Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) to track vehicles around suspect scrap yards; — encourages the rail industry to practise better housekeeping and security at depots and lineside; — uses environmental powers to arrest those found burning the sheathing off cable; and — helps train selected Network Rail staff to equip them with basic skills in preserving evidence at theft scenes. 7. Network Rail has responded by: — funding additional, dedicated BTP officers; — participating in a national intelligence cell with BTP and working with affected infrastructure providers in the energy and other sectors to share intelligence and good practice; — employing CCTV, forensic marking, trembler alarms and other devices to protect cable; — installing a new type of cable that is easier to identify and harder to steal; — using only approved scrap yards for disposals of used materials, thereby helping police identify stolen cable; and — seeking to raise industry and public awareness of the problem and to publicise successes such as prosecution of offenders. 8. BTP also uses the media pro-actively to highlight action against metal thieves and dishonest scrap dealers, intending that the resulting coverage should act as a reassurance to the many and a deterrence to the few. It has for example organised “days of action” to highlight BTP activity aimed at metal theft. cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [E] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/016898_w010_w018b_mark_CTR 14B DfT supplementary.xml

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Next steps 9. DfT Ministers are working closely with Ministers in the Home Office—who have the overall lead within Government on metal theft—and other key Departments, to examine options for further action to tackle the problem and to progress the objectives noted at paragraph 5 above. 10. In the first instance, this involves exploring the scope for greater use of existing machinery and existing legislative powers, for example by way of better sharing of intelligence and best practice among the many agencies and businesses involved. This could include the wider use of voluntary codes of practice within the scrap metal industry. There may also be scope for more intensive enforcement of existing environmental and waste legislation, and for encouraging tougher penalties for offenders, for instance. 11. In addition, Ministers are considering whether there is a case for updating the present legislation on the scrap metal industry, the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964, and integrating it more effectively with the environmental waste regime. Concerns have been expressed that the 1964 Act is out-dated and fails to provide adequate mechanisms to enforce proper record-keeping, to protect legitimate dealers or to take effective enforcement action against those who operate illegally. It has also been suggested that a move to a cashless system might help to deter this crime by making it more difficult to dispose of stolen material anonymously. 12. Against that, it would be necessary to consider carefully the additional burden which new regulation might put on legitimate businesses, and the extent to which the disposal of stolen metal might still continue on an illegal basis. Given the Government’s general aim to reduce and simplify regulation, there would need to be a strong case made to justify any new regulation. 13. No decisions on specific measures have yet been taken, but Ministerial discussions are continuing as a matter of urgency and priority. 31 November 2011

Annex 1 NETWORK RAIL CABLE THEFT STATISTICS—NATIONAL AND ROUTE 2008/09—DATE NATIONAL Financial Year No. of incidents^ Delay minutes1 Compensation cost* Total Cost** 2011–12# 464 166,353 £5,877,347 n/a 2010–11 995 365, 265 £12, 137, 220 £16,510,663 2009–10 656 321, 570 £10, 931, 350 £13,961,998 2008–09 742 283, 167 £7, 858, 516 £12,264,682 Total 2,393 970, 002 £30, 927, 086 £42,737,343

Hours Delay 2011–12#—2,772 2010–11—6,088 2009–10—5,360 2008–09—4,719

Notes # Year to date—to end of period 5 Number of incidents which caused^ delay to the operational network. It does not include thefts from depots, engineering sites or redundant cable. 1 Delay minutes provide an indication of the scale of inconvenience experienced by passengers and vary with each incident. If the theft is on a busy mainline then they rack up much more quickly than on quieter suburban lines. * Compensation costs (known as schedule 8 costs) are paid to train and freight operators for the disruption caused by the delay. This is a substantial part of the cost to the industry of cable theft but does not include the cost of staff time to repair and replace the cable, replacement cable itself and the cost of mitigation measures such as security patrols and investment in new technology. The amount of compensation paid depends on the type of services delayed. ** Total Cost comprises schedule 8 (compensation to train operators), as well as the average cost of replacement cable; average maintenance cost of attending to the fault and average opportunity cost of diverting this labour from elsewhere. This figure is only available as a national figure as it is an estimation based on averages. British Transport Police 2010/11 (nb. the number of crimes is not recorded in a way which directly tallies with NR’s recording of the number of incidents) cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [O] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/016898_w010_w018b_mark_CTR 14B DfT supplementary.xml

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No. of crimes (live and redundant Crime area name cable) Arrests London North 321 112 London South 391 94 London Underground 123 77 North Eastern 1,184 273 North Western 273 109 Wales and Western 632 218 Scottish 192 31 Total 3116 914

NETWORK RAIL BREAKDOWN BY ROUTE 2010/11 Route No. of Incidents Delay minutes1 Compensation cost* Anglia 74 21,055 £1, 089, 809 CTRL 1 31 £7,251 East Midlands 33 11,234 £282, 473 Kent 17 12,681 £417, 950 LNE (London North Eastern) 526 137,801 £3,531, 416 LNW (London North Western) 196 105,842 £2, 795, 811 Scotland 34 7,265 £254, 825 Sussex 3 764 £30, 081 Wessex 8 3,536 £140, 423 Western 103 65,026 £3,587, 181

BREAKDOWN BY ROUTE 2009-10 Route No. of Incidents Delay minutes1 Compensation cost* Anglia 79 40, 632 £2,643,979 CTRL 0 0 £0 East Midlands 27 6, 386 £155,750 Kent 10 3,331 £82,849 LNE (London North Eastern) 327 102, 680 £2,630,249 LNW (London North Western) 166 125, 089 £3,085,507 Scotland 2 142 £13,974 Sussex 1 748 £41,876 Wessex 3 71 £1,738 Western 41 42, 491 £2,275,430

BREAKDOWN BY ROUTE 2008-09 Route No. of Incidents Delay minutes1 Compensation cost* Anglia 26 12,253 £720,251 CTRL 0 0 £0 East Midlands 22 6,532 £215,439 Kent 23 5,570 £148,591 LNE (London North Eastern) 489 167,509 £4,725,454 LNW (London North Western) 136 71,548 £1,361,966 Scotland 10 4,396 £212,450 Sussex 0 0 £0 Wessex 1 12 £163 Western 35 15,347 £474,203 cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [E] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/016898_w010_w018b_mark_CTR 14B DfT supplementary.xml

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Further written evidence from the Department for Transport (CTR 14A) LETTER FROM NORMAN BAKER MP, PARLIAMENTARY UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE, DEPARTMENT FOR TRANSPORT At the Committee’s evidence session on 29 November, I promised to provide further information on two issues. Firstly, at questions 110 and 125, you asked about compensation from Network Rail to Train Operating Companies (TOCs), and how this related to compensation from TOCs to passengers for delays. The short answer is that there is no connection between the payments made by Network Rail to the TOCs under Schedule 8 of the Track Access Agreement, and the compensation paid by the TOCs to passengers under Passenger’s Charters. The former is designed to compensate TOCs from the long-term adverse impact of poor performance, whereas the latter is designed to compensate the passenger for the impact of delay on a particular journey. While Network Rail has provided to the Committee information on the Schedule 28 compensation arising from cable theft, we-do-not-holdinformation on the amount of compensation to passengers arising from such incidents. I attach an annex which explains the two regimes in a little more detail, and a table showing the amount of compensation paid by those TOCs which operate the Delay/Repay regime. However these figures are for total compensation, not just relating to incidents caused by cable theft. Second, Graham Stringer asked at questions 123 and 124 about trains being permitted to pass red signals in an emergency. I would emphasise that we are only here considering the sort of situation where a train has been held at a red signal for a considerable time, and where the controller has taken a decision that it would be more appropriate to allow the train to be driven slowly past the signal to the next station to allow passengers to disembark, rather than leave them stuck on the train for possibly a very long period. The Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS) is fitted to some signals at locations where passing the signal overlap (the track area immediately beyond the signal post short of the protected feature) would carry a risk of a collision or similar event. This is indeed designed to prevent trains passing red signals. However, there are industry procedures under which operators can be authorised to activate the “TPWS train stop override”, as I indicated in my answer to Q124. Full details of the Rule Book instructions pertaining to such manoeuvres are available on the RSSB website: http://www.rssb.co.uk/RGS/Pages/RulebookModules.aspx 13 December 2011

Annex The compensation arrangements between Network Rail and the Train Operating Companies (TOCs), and between TOCs and passengers are covered by two separate regimes: Schedule 8 of the Track Access Agreement for the payments between Network Rail and the TOCs; and the National Rail Conditions of Carriage (NRCoC)/ Passenger’s Charter for payments between TOCs and passengers.

Schedule 8 The purpose of the compensation regime in the Track Access Agreements is to incentivise Network Rail and the train operator to achieve an acceptable level of performance, and for Network Rail to compensate the operator if performance drops below an acceptable level. Payments under this regime are also designed to compensate for the effect of delays on an operator’s future business which, if unaddressed, could ultimately have an impact on public finances. The specific arrangements for compensation for delays are set out in the Track Access Agreements, and are part of a standard industry process in place since privatisation. This compensation regime uses a different measure of performance to that of Delay Repay as it relates to wider performance rather than that of an individual service. It looks at the average lateness of trains per day across groups of services at various locations on each train’s journey. It then splits the responsibility for this average lateness between Network Rail and the train operator, depending on the percentage share of responsibility for delays suffered by the operator. External events such as cable theft are treated as Network Rail’s responsibility. There is a benchmark level for average lateness for these groups of services for both Network Rail and the operator, and money can flow to or from the operator depending on actual performance compared with this benchmark over a four week period. The benchmarks are set for a five-year period (most recently in 2009) by the Office for Rail Regulation, based on recent historic performance for the relevant services, and those for Network Rail are progressively tightened to encourage improved performance over time. The level of compensation to the train operator (or payment to Network Rail if their performance is better than benchmark) takes account of the economic value of the group of services concerned. cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [O] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/016898_w010_w018b_mark_CTR 14B DfT supplementary.xml

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The Schedule 8 compensation figures regarding cable theft for the last three full years at an annual level have been provided to the committee as part of Network Rail’s evidence.

Passenger Compensation The minimum compensation entitlements for train passengers in Great Britain are set out in the National Rrail Conditions of Carriage (NRCoC), which have been approved by the Department for Transport (DfT). The NRCoC provide an entitlement to claim compensation of 20% of the fare paid for the journey in the event of a delay of 60 minutes ormore, payable in national rail travel vouchers for passengers with single, return and weekly season ticket for delays which are within the control of the rail industry. There is no entitlement to compensation for delays which are caused by events outside the control of the rail industry, which include those due to cable theft (as well as other “external” events such as suicides and exceptionally severe weather which also disrupts other forms of transport). For passengers with monthly and longer season tickets, delays due to events outside the control of the rail industry are also excluded from the annual performance statistics used to determine whether a discount is due on renewal. All franchised TOCs are required under their franchise agreement to have in place a Passenger’s Charter which has been approved by the DfT, which will include arrangements for compensation for passengers. In their Passenger’s Charters, most TOCs do offer more than the NRCoC minimum. TOCs can also, at their discretion, go beyond the commitments in their Passenger’s Charter on an ex gratia basis including providing compensation for “external” events such as cable theft. For TOCs which have Delay/Repay in their Passenger’s Charter, all passengers are entitled to claim compensation for each delay of more than 30 minutes which they experience, whatever the cause. There are no exclusions for delays due to “external” events outside the control of the rail industry such as cable theft. Delay/Repay is being introduced in place of the discount system as new franchises are let, and as opportunities arise within existing franchises, notably Southeastern from 1 July 2011. The DfT does not have details of the amount of Passenger’s Charter compensation paid by TOCs broken down by cause e.g. compensation for delays due to cable theft. The DfT has figures, attached, for those TOCs which have Delay/Repay in their Passenger’s Charters, aggregated with other Passenger’s Charter compensation they paid, for the 2009–10 and 2010–2011 financial years. These figures are likely to include compensation paid by these TOCs for non delay related matters (e.g. the train heating was not working) under their Passenger’s Charters and the associated administration costs, as well as Delay/Repay compensation itself. COMPENSATION PAID BY TRAIN COMPANIES OPERATING DELAY/REPAY Train Company Description of Information 2009–10 2010–11 (0,000s) (0,000s)

London Midland Passenger’s Charter/Delay Repay 268 309 CrossCountry Other compensation 525 470 Delay Repay 465 849 Southern Passenger’s Charter/Delay Repay 4* 525 East Midlands Trains Passenger’s Charter/Delay Repay 324 220 National Express East Coast Passenger’s Charter/Delay Repay 806** N/A East Coast Passenger’s Charter/Delay Repay 499*** 883 Notes *Delay Repay introduced on Southern on 20/09/09 **From 1/4/09–17/10/09. No figure available for 18/10/09–14/11/09 ***From 15/11/09–31/03/10

Further written evidence from the Department for Transport (CTR 14B) LETTER FROM RT HON. JUSTINE GREENING, SECRETARY OF STATE FOR TRANSPORT Thank you for your letter of 1 December 2011 about the national taskforce to tackle metal theft announced as part of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement. My officials are discussing with the Home Office and British Transport Police how best to implement this initiative as quickly as possible. We will make an announcement as soon as the arrangements are settled. But in broad terms we are looking to the BTP to manage the task force, within a broad remit to be set by Government, and it will be for them to determine details of its membership and operational role. I understand that the BTP are currently thinking in terms of establishing a strengthened central command and co-ordination team, building on existing BTP structures, supported by regional teams to bolster intelligence gathering and enforcement action around the country. We do not envisage that the task force will have any new powers, but the task force will be working closely with Home Office police forces and other agencies such as the Environment Agency and HM RC to ensure maximum benefit can be secured within the existing statutory frameworks. cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [E] Processed: [25-01-2012 09:21] Job: 016898 Unit: PG03 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/016898/016898_w010_w018b_mark_CTR 14B DfT supplementary.xml

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The £5 million funding for the taskforce became available from my Department’s underspend for the current year. The aim is to get a substantial amount of worthwhile activity under way in the current financial year, but we recognise that this initiative will take time to secure its full benefits, and so we expect it will continue well into the following year, at least. As you know, not least from Norman Baker’s evidence to your inquiry, the Government is also considering longer-term options, such as tightening up the legislative regime for scrap metal. Given that any new legislation—if taken forward—would take time to implement, we are keen to take early action to ramp up our efforts to tackle this serious problem. We believe the taskforce will make a substantial contribution to filling that gap. 16 December 2011

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