Insurers make decisions about the terms on which they will offer cover following an assessment of the relevant risks. The Government has not made a specific assessment of domestic key safes and generally does not intervene in the commercial decisions of insurers as this could damage competition in the market.

The Government is determined that insurers treat customers fairly and firms are required to do so under Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules. The FCA’s Vulnerability Guidance defines vulnerable customers as those who may be especially susceptible to harm if a firm does not act with appropriate levels of care and requires firms to identify vulnerable customers and to consider the needs of these customers appropriately. This includes ensuring they provide products that are fair value to consumers and clear communications which are fair and not misleading. The FCA has robust powers to act against firms that breach its rules.

The Government would always recommend consumers shop around to find the most suitable cover at the best price. The British Insurance Brokers’ Association can offer customers guidance on looking across the insurance market for suitable products and may be able to provide names of specialist brokers.

Insurers make decisions about the terms on which they will offer cover following an assessment of the relevant risks. The Government has not made a specific assessment of domestic key safes and generally does not intervene in the commercial decisions of insurers as this could damage competition in the market.

The Government is determined that insurers treat customers fairly and firms are required to do so under Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules. The FCA’s Vulnerability Guidance defines vulnerable customers as those who may be especially susceptible to harm if a firm does not act with appropriate levels of care and requires firms to identify vulnerable customers and to consider the needs of these customers appropriately. This includes ensuring they provide products that are fair value to consumers and clear communications which are fair and not misleading. The FCA has robust powers to act against firms that breach its rules.

The Government would always recommend consumers shop around to find the most suitable cover at the best price. The British Insurance Brokers’ Association can offer customers guidance on looking across the insurance market for suitable products and may be able to provide names of specialist brokers.

Insurers make decisions about the terms on which they will offer cover following an assessment of the relevant risks. The Government has not made a specific assessment of domestic key safes and generally does not intervene in the commercial decisions of insurers as this could damage competition in the market.

The Government is determined that insurers treat customers fairly and firms are required to do so under Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules. The FCA’s Vulnerability Guidance defines vulnerable customers as those who may be especially susceptible to harm if a firm does not act with appropriate levels of care and requires firms to identify vulnerable customers and to consider the needs of these customers appropriately. This includes ensuring they provide products that are fair value to consumers and clear communications which are fair and not misleading. The FCA has robust powers to act against firms that breach its rules.

The Government would always recommend consumers shop around to find the most suitable cover at the best price. The British Insurance Brokers’ Association can offer customers guidance on looking across the insurance market for suitable products and may be able to provide names of specialist brokers.

Online platforms must comply with The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act which prohibits unfair trading, including misleading omissions and actions. The Act clarifies that online platforms must exercise professional diligence in relation to consumer transactions promoted or made on their platforms. The legislation carries criminal penalties and is enforced by Trading Standards officers.

The Government encourages consumers to use providers that operate under a regulated trusted trader scheme, such as the Master Locksmiths Association (MLA), which has a Police Crime Prevention-approved licensing scheme in place to ensure approved locksmiths are appropriately vetted, inspected and qualified.

Estimate from the Crime Survey of England and Wales (for the year ending March 2023) showed the two most common methods of entry in theft of vehicles in England and Wales are “Offender manipulated signal from remote locking device” (40%) and “Offender used a key/electric fob” (32%). This information is published by the Office for National Statistics.

The Government works closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vehicle crime and the police-led National Vehicle Crime Working Group, which focuses on tackling vehicle crime through various workstreams. This includes training police officers on the methods used to steal vehicles, focusing on prevention and deterrence of theft of and from vehicles, encouraging vehicle owners to secure their vehicles, and working with industry to address vulnerabilities in vehicles.

The Government keeps all legislation under review. We will be introducing a Crime and Policing Bill and will consider what measures are needed to support efforts to tackle and prevent vehicle crime.

Estimate from the Crime Survey of England and Wales (for the year ending March 2023) showed the two most common methods of entry in theft of vehicles in England and Wales are “Offender manipulated signal from remote locking device” (40%) and “Offender used a key/electric fob” (32%). This information is published by the Office for National Statistics.

The Government works closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vehicle crime and the police-led National Vehicle Crime Working Group, which focuses on tackling vehicle crime through various workstreams. This includes training police officers on the methods used to steal vehicles, focusing on prevention and deterrence of theft of and from vehicles, encouraging vehicle owners to secure their vehicles, and working with industry to address vulnerabilities in vehicles.

The Government keeps all legislation under review. We will be introducing a Crime and Policing Bill and will consider what measures are needed to support efforts to tackle and prevent vehicle crime.

One prison had to replace locks due to the loss of keys in 2022. The cost of this was £28,650.

There have been no such incidents to date in 2023. All incidents are thoroughly investigated to ensure the safety of and security of staff and prisoners.

The table below shows which prisons have been re-locked since 2015, the amount spent on each re-locking occurrence and the reason(s) the re-locking was required. Re-locking is rare and all incidents are fully investigated to ensure the safety and security of our prisons.

The table below shows the number of incidents and cost of relock within prisons in England and Wales due to loss or theft of keys, for the time period requested.

The Department for Transport and Active Travel England are working with the police-led National Cycle Crime Group to support regional cycle crime enforcement partnerships and raise awareness of better security, especially around effective ways for people to secure their cycles.

The Home Office has no plans to introduce security standards for bike locks.

To prevent and deter the theft and sale of stolen bicycles the Home Office is working closely with the British Transport Police (BTP), the national lead for tackling cycle theft. BTP have launched the ‘double lock it’ campaign with police forces and organisations, providing advice to owners to help better protect their bicycles. Further information on the campaign and bicycle locks can be found here: https://www.btp.police.uk/police-forces/british-transport-police/areas/campaigns/double-lock-it/.

The Home Office collects data from police forces on police recorded crime, broken down by Police Force Area and Community Safety Partnership Area, including the City of York. This includes the number of recorded offences of bicycle theft.

The latest data can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables

The Government has launched plans to boost cycling and walking. The Cycling and Walking Plan for England, Gear Change, was published in 2020 and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cycling-and-walking-plan-for-england. Through Theme 4 of the Gear Change Plan, the Department for Transport (DfT) is leading on initiatives to combat cycle theft, including encouraging retailers to number the bikes they sell and offer customers the opportunity to register their bike on a database at the point of sale.

Through the BTP-led National Cycle Crime Group, working with Department for Transport, Cycle Crime Reduction Partnerships have been set up across the country to coordinate regional enforcement activity to disrupt organised cycle theft. Furthermore, to ensure police forces have sufficient resources to respond to the challenges they face, we have committed to recruit an extra 20,000 police officers by March 2023, with over 16,753 already in place at the end of September 2022.

The Government currently has no plans to regulate the locksmith industry.

All locksmiths approved by the Master Locksmith Association (MLA) undergo strict vetting including a criminal record check; are regularly inspected to ensure they conform to legal requirements and customer charters; and must pass the MLA’s qualifications to demonstrate competence.

The Government is committed to tackling vehicle crime as a priority. We continue to work closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead for vehicle crime, through the National Vehicle Crime Working Group, which includes representatives from the motor industry and Department for Transport, to take forward a programme of work. This work is overseen by the Government’s Crime and Justice Taskforce.

As part of this programme, the National Vehicle Crime Working Group has established a horizon-scanning group to identify potential future trends, threats and vulnerability in vehicle security and vehicle-related crime. We will continue to engage closely with academics, vehicle manufacturers and policing leads to undertake research and implement actions to mitigate future opportunities to criminally exploit technological and design changes in the automotive industry.