Extracts from Parliamentary proceedings: National Crime Agency - May 9
|
Extracts from committee stage (Lords) of the Economic Crime and
Corporate Transparency Bill Lord Coaker (Lab):...As I say,
Amendment 106B suggests an economic crime committee, and Amendment
106EA a report on the economic crime investigation and prosecution
framework. I want to leave Amendment 106EB, on the reform of the
Serious Fraud Office, to one side at the moment. Again, I used the
factsheet—it is from 11 April 2023, the Committee will be pleased
to know, being the...Request free trial
Extracts from committee stage (Lords) of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill
Lord Coaker (Lab):...As I say, Amendment
106B suggests an economic crime committee, and Amendment 106EA a
report on the economic crime investigation and prosecution
framework. I want to leave Amendment 106EB, on the reform of the
Serious Fraud Office, to one side at the moment. Again, I used
the factsheet—it is from 11 April 2023, the Committee will be
pleased to know, being the most up-to-date one I could find on
this. I read it because it talked about economic crime in the UK
and the Government’s response to it. It says: The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Sharpe of Epsom) (Con):...I thank the noble Lord, Lord Fox, for tabling Amendment 104, to which I will now speak. The impact of fraud and economic crime affects the whole of our society. The cost of fraud to the UK runs into the billions and is assessed by the National Crime Agency to be the most common crime type in England and Wales. We take this threat type seriously and have delivered a strengthened approach to reduce its impact. Obviously, as I referenced, the fraud strategy is one part of that; I will come back to it in a moment. The NCA currently leads the national response to serious and organised crime, including economic crime. As predicted, the NCA’s director-general is accountable to the Home Secretary and, through the Home Secretary, to Parliament... ...The Government, regulators and law enforcement already regularly give evidence to parliamentary committees. This includes information at a higher classification to the Intelligence and Security Committee. Furthermore, as already mentioned, the National Crime Agency is required under the Crime and Courts Act to publish an annual report and lay it before Parliament, further adding to the available scrutiny of operational bodies... ...I turn to the final amendment in this group, Amendment 106EA, again tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Coaker. I come to this amendment last as it seeks to bring into one amendment much of what the other amendments in this group also attempt. I will not repeat myself too much here, especially considering how long I have gone on so far. The amendment would require the Government to issue a report on the performance of agencies and departments in tackling economic crime. However, I can assure noble Lords that this is already being done. As I have mentioned, the Government, regulators and law enforcement already regularly give evidence to parliamentary committees. The National Crime Agency is required under the Crime and Courts Act to publish an annual report and lay it before Parliament, further adding to the available scrutiny of operational bodies. The Government already conduct a range of threat and risk assessments to develop our understanding of economic crime. The NCA’s national strategic assessment assesses the economic crime threats facing the UK on an annual basis. As required under the money-laundering regulations, the UK also conducts periodic national risk assessments of money laundering and terrorist financing, which provide an overview of the risks and likelihood of an activity occurring. We have already discussed in detail the establishment of a fund to tackle economic crime so I will not repeat that debate again... Lord Oates (LD):...I turn to the final amendment in this group, Amendment 106EA, again tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Coaker. I come to this amendment last as it seeks to bring into one amendment much of what the other amendments in this group also attempt. I will not repeat myself too much here, especially considering how long I have gone on so far. The amendment would require the Government to issue a report on the performance of agencies and departments in tackling economic crime. However, I can assure noble Lords that this is already being done. As I have mentioned, the Government, regulators and law enforcement already regularly give evidence to parliamentary committees. The National Crime Agency is required under the Crime and Courts Act to publish an annual report and lay it before Parliament, further adding to the available scrutiny of operational bodies. The Government already conduct a range of threat and risk assessments to develop our understanding of economic crime. The NCA’s national strategic assessment assesses the economic crime threats facing the UK on an annual basis. As required under the money-laundering regulations, the UK also conducts periodic national risk assessments of money laundering and terrorist financing, which provide an overview of the risks and likelihood of an activity occurring. We have already discussed in detail the establishment of a fund to tackle economic crime so I will not repeat that debate again... Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con):...The Government have consistently invested in efforts to bring those responsible for corruption to justice. The international corruption unit in the National Crime Agency is a specialist capability that investigates corruption cases with UK links... ...Several noble Lords have raised with me, and during this debate, the changes made to the unexplained wealth order regime by the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022. These amended provisions in the Proceeds of Crime Act—POCA—introduce “costs protection” for enforcement agencies in cases of UWOs, unless they act unreasonably. This aimed to remove barriers to the use of UWO powers by relevant law enforcement teams. This was done on the basis that they were exceptional and likely to be low in volume in comparison to other types of civil recovery and, furthermore, that the relevant cost rules would be positioned as a novel and unique proposal, thereby maintaining the overall integrity of the “loser pays” principle in all other civil recovery proceedings. In the last five years, agencies with civil recovery powers—the Crown Prosecution Service, the National Crime Agency the Serious Fraud Office, the Financial Conduct Authority and HM Revenue and Customs—have not paid any adverse costs for civil recovery proceedings... For context, CLICK HERE Extract from Commons consideration of the Draft Insider Dealing (Securities and Regulated Markets) Order 2023
Hannah Bardell (Livingston) (SNP): Like
our Labour party colleagues, the Scottish National party supports
the draft order. However, the reality is that the National Crime
Agency has faced a 4.5% decrease in its budget in
recent years. Is the Minister willing to say anything about the
funding of the resources to pursue the criminals? What more will
be done in line with updating the legislation? For context, CLICK HERE |