The issue of metal thefts in Bexley was highlighted by Teresa in the House of Commons last week, during the second reading of the Scrap Metal Dealers Bill.
The theft of metal is something that has been problematic across the constituency, with the illegal removal of telephone lines and cables proving a costly inconvenience to local businesses and putting jobs at risk. The effect this has on local communities is often underestimated, and so there is not currently infrastructure in place to adequately deal with the problem.
Teresa intervened during the debate to draw on a comment made by Richard Ottoway MP, and to centralise the specific impact this criminal activity is having on industry in Bexley.
Teresa said:
“The incident the hon. Gentleman mentions in Bexley occurred in my constituency. One of the companies there – an old, established company – has been in touch with me three times this year because, exactly as he says, its phone and email communications were stripped out. That resulted in the company losing thousands of pounds of orders, which puts jobs at risk, and that is in one firm in an industrial area. It is therefore hard to calculate how many jobs have been put at risk or how many firms on the edge might just teeter over because of metal theft.”
