The Crime and Policing Bill completed its Second Reading in the House of Lords on Thursday (Oct 17) and will now go to the Committee Stage.
As the members discussed the various aspects of the bill, shoplifting and shopworkers' safety took the centre stage.
Presenting the bill, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Ministry of Justice Baroness Levitt said in the House of Lords, "Everyone should feel safe when they are at work. This Bill delivers stronger action to protect shop workers.
"Assaulting a shop worker will be a bespoke criminal offence with a presumption that the courts will, on conviction, impose a criminal behaviour order on offenders.
"We are also repealing the provision that treats low-value shop theft as a minor offence. Shoplifting is not minor, and we are sending a clear message that all shop theft should be taken seriously.
"I know both these measures will be particularly welcomed by the Justice and Home Affairs Committee."
Retailers have welcomed the progress of the bill.
In response, Lucy Whing, Crime Policy Adviser at the British Retail Consortium (BRC), said, “We are glad to be one step closer to the implementation of the Crime and Policing Bill.
"As the government takes action to address retail crime, retailers hope this Bill will play a vital role in protecting retail workers from harm and tackling the surge in theft.
“The Bill will remove the £200 threshold for ‘low level’ theft, which will send a clear signal that all shoplifting is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
"It will also introduce a standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker, which will increase sentencing and improve the visibility of violence against retail workers so that police can allocate the necessary resources to tackle this challenge.
“However, the Bill must go further. All people working in customer facing roles in the industry deserve equal protection, as is the case in Scotland.
"It remains unclear if the offence will cover delivery drivers, despite new figures from Usdaw revealing that more than three quarters have been a victim of abuse and over one in ten have been assaulted during the last twelve months.
"We call on the government to ensure that the final Act ensures the extension of protections to delivery drivers.”