Scrap Metal Dealers Bill passes through House of Lords Committee Stage

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The Scrap Metal Dealers Bill has moved through the next section of its passage through Parliament after progressing through the Lords Committee Stage.

This Bill is a Private Member’s Bill, that was proposed by Richard Ottaway MP and now just needs to go for a third reading in the Lords in February. It should then receive Royal Assent in May, ready for implementation in October.

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It will follow the Government’s ban on cash payments for scrap metal in December under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Act 2012. It will also close a number of loopholes in the LASPO Act while proposing tougher licensing and enforcement of metal theft.

British Metals Recycling Association director general Ian Hetherington welcomed the passage of the Bill through the Lords Committee Stage.

He said: “It is imperative that the Scrap Metal Dealers Bill is passed as quickly as possible to improve regulation in the metals recycling industry and metal theft. The BMRA welcomes the revised Bill’s progress because loopholes and exemptions in the LASPO Act expose legitimate businesses to a drop in trade, job losses and closures while allowing criminal activity to continue.

“As the legislation currently stands, some metal traders – such as motor vehicle salvage operators – are exempt from the changes brought in under the LASPO Act, which leaves an unfair playing field. This poses a serious challenge to small metal recyclers who rely on the trade of householders and businesses that sell scrap items every day and will undoubtedly take their business to collectors who continue to pay cash. The Scrap Metal Dealers Bill hopes to eradicate these issues by closing off the loopholes and putting a robust regulatory framework in place to back it up.”