As Trades United march on Westminster to draw attention to the issue of trades theft, particularly tool theft, the National Federation of Builders (NFB), extends their voice on such a vital issue.

Richard Beresford, Chief Executive of the NFB, said: “With margins on construction projects being so small and so much of our industry being self-employed, it is huge sacrifice for trades people to take a day off and therefore not getting paid, not winning more work and potentially upsetting their customers by being unavailable.

Every year, tool theft costs industry almost one hundred million pounds and it puts individuals and companies out of work and even out of business. Governments have not taken trade theft seriously enough and this needs to change, not just by ensuring secondhand tools sales face better scrutiny but by ensuring thieves and those selling stolen goods are prosecuted.”

Tool theft is just one crime that industry experiences. Since the Government removed access to red diesel for construction and the haulage sector, RAC highlighted that UK fuel thefts have quadrupled since 2019 and a CIOB survey highlighted that 51% of respondents experienced the crime on their construction sites.

Several police forces have also highlighted the issues in relation to construction of HGV’s.

This correlates with NFB members’ experiences and reinforces the concerns made to the previous government that there was not enough alternative fuel plant machinery, with much of it at least a decade away, and that fuel thefts would increase considerably.

Ministers dismissed both warnings.

Beresford continued: “Fuel theft also needs tackling. Three years on from a government decision to remove the construction industries access to red diesel, electric plant machinery is slightly less rare than hen’s teeth, alternative fuels remain as expensive as white diesel and fuel thefts on construction sites have ramped up.”