House of Commons – June 18, 2025 – 238

New Clause 130 - Theft of tools: prevention of re-sale and prosecution of offences (1) The Equipment Theft Act 2023 is amended as follows. (2) In section 3 (Enforcement), subsection (2) at end insert “equal to— (a) the replacement cost of the equipment, (b) the cost of repairing any damage caused during the theft, and (c) the trading losses incurred by the offended party.” (3) In section 3 (Enforcement), after subsection (3) insert— “(3A) An enforcement authority must put in place an enforcement plan to enforce regulations made under section 1 at temporary markets in their area.” (4) The Sentencing Act 2020 is amended as follows. (5) In Chapter 3, Aggravating Factors, after section 72 insert— ‘72A Theft of tools from tradesmen (1) This section applies where the court is considering the seriousness of an offence specified in section 7 of the Theft Act 1968. (2) If the theft was of tools from a tradesman, the court— (a) must treat that fact as an aggravating factor, and (b) must state in open court that the offence is so aggravated.’”—(Matt Vickers.)