What steps she is taking to tackle retail crime.

Levels of violence and abuse towards retail workers are unacceptably high, with a shoplifting epidemic plaguing our high streets across the country. That is why this Government will bring in a new offence of assaulting a retail worker, and end the effective immunity for shoplifting of goods below £200. Unlike the Conservative party, we want to send a message that all shoplifting is illegal and that offenders will not escape punishment.

Record rates of retail crime and shoplifting are blighting our high streets, including in Ipswich, where too often such instances act as a flashpoint for completely unacceptable levels of violence, threats and abuse directed towards retail workers. I very much welcome the Government’s commitment to ending the £200 threshold for prosecuting shoplifters, and the introduction of a stand-alone offence that will give shop workers the protection they need. Will the Minister join me in Ipswich to meet local retail staff, so that she can hear about their experiences and the vital difference that these steps will make?

I commend my hon. Friend for raising this issue. It is true that the steps we are taking owe much to the work of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers, the Co-op, the British Retail Consortium and the Association of Convenience Stores. Everyone has a right to feel safe at work, but the March statistics show a 30% increase in shoplifting offences, many of which are violent, over 12 months. We welcome the operational commitments made by the police in the retail crime action plan. I know that the Minister of State, Home Department, my right hon. Friend Dame Diana Johnson has heard my hon. Friend’s request and that she will be happy to visit Ipswich with him.

I call the shadow Minister.

As a Back Bencher and chair of the all-party parliamentary group on retail, I campaigned alongside retailers and the likes of USDAW to up the ante on protecting retail workers. I know that retail workers welcomed my party’s action on the retail crime action plan, particularly the use of tagging and facial recognition technology. Can the Minister assure us that there will be no let-up in the use of facial recognition and tagging to clamp down on this and other crimes?

I thank the shadow Minister for his question, and I can confirm that we are continuing to look at this issue. We welcome the operational commitments that have been made by the police in the October 2023 retail crime action plan and, indeed, the commitment from police across England and Wales to prioritise attendance where violence has been used towards shop staff.