PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES - United Kingdom Parliament

1467 Oral Answers
26 MARCH 2013
Oral Answers
1468
The Attorney-General: The Home Office is responsible
for producing official statistics on casework outcomes
in terrorism. The latest published Home Office data for
the year ending September 2012 indicate that 24 out of
29 defendants were convicted, at a conviction rate of 82.8%.
At that time, 134 prisoners classified as terrorists or domestic
extremists were convicted and remanded. On fraud,
the number of prosecutions has increased by 25% since
2010 and the conviction rate remains at 86.2%. On tax
evasion, in the financial year to date 86% of cases
originating with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs
have resulted in conviction. I should like to write to my
hon. Friend about the overall figures on this.
Catherine McKinnell (Newcastle upon Tyne North)
(Lab): Does the Attorney-General share my concern
about the memo leaked by the CPS that showed there
was a risk of CPS prosecutors deliberately choosing
cases that were likely to crack because of lack of evidence,
in order to save costs?
The Attorney-General: I think that the conviction
rates speak for the efficiency of the CPS. I have seen
nothing to suggest that cases are not being pursued
outside the ordinary tests of public interest and the
reasonable prospect of getting a conviction. Obviously,
if those do not apply then there should not be a prosecution
at all. I am certainly not aware of there being any
fiddling and of decisions being made not to prosecute
certain cases that should be prosecuted.
Confiscation Orders
5. Chris Williamson (Derby North) (Lab): What steps
he is taking to increase the effectiveness of the pursuit
by the Crown Prosecution Service of high-value
confiscation orders. [149749]
The Attorney-General (Mr Dominic Grieve): The Crown
Prosecution Service is generally very effective in the pursuit
of high-value confiscation orders. My office and the
CPS are represented on the Home Office-led criminal
finances board, at which asset recovery performance is
discussed. Asset recovery is a long process. Assets are
often hidden. Third-party litigation, appeals against
conviction and confiscation orders all mean that the
enforcement of such orders may take a significant amount
of time. Due to the way in which the value of a
confiscation order is calculated, in many cases it is not
possible to recover the full amount that has been ordered.
Chris Williamson: Four out of five of the largest
confiscation orders sought by the CPS in the past three
years have concerned VAT fraud. Will the Attorney-General
ensure that prosecuting these high-value and highly
complex fraud cases is prioritised by the CPS?
The Attorney-General: I assure the hon. Gentleman
that I will raise the matter with the CPS, but I have no
reason to think that it is not doing that. The evidence
suggests overall—I cannot break it down for VAT fraud—
that year on year the amount being confiscated is rising
from what was a very low and rather unsuccessful level
after the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 first came into
force. In the past year, £107 million was realised through
confiscation. I will write to him about his specific point
on VAT.
Minimum Wage: Evasion
6. Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab):
What recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness
of the Crown Prosecution Service as a prosecutor of
employers who evade the minimum wage. [149750]
The Solicitor-General (Oliver Heald): The Crown
Prosecution Service decides whether to prosecute national
minimum wage cases, but the cases are investigated by
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. Since 2010, three
cases have been referred to the CPS by HMRC, two of
which resulted in convictions, most recently in February
2013, where the defendant was fined £1,000.
Diana Johnson: Shockingly, there were no prosecutions
for minimum wage evasion in 2011 or 2012. If the
Government are really serious about dealing with low-skilled
immigration and its causes, why have they not been
enforcing the minimum wage legislation properly?
The Solicitor-General: It is important to bear in mind
that HMRC has two sorts of powers that it can use:
criminal investigation, which we have already discussed,
and the civil powers that enable it to look at the books and
then to impose penalties and recover arrears. It is for
HMRC to decide on the best way forward. The hon.
Lady is right that these are important matters.
John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab): Is the
Solicitor-General aware that the number of relevant
inspections by HMRC has been falling for the past two
or three years? Does that not make the sort of convictions
that he is talking about less likely in the future?
The Solicitor-General: These are important matters
and I will pass the hon. Gentleman’s comments on to
Treasury Ministers. It is important that this matter is
taken seriously and that there is proper enforcement.
The Government certainly consider it to be an important
matter.
Rape
7. Stephen Doughty (Cardiff South and Penarth)
(Lab/Co-op): What recent assessment he has made of
the effectiveness of the Crown Prosecution Service in
rape prosecutions. [149751]
The Solicitor-General (Oliver Heald): The conviction
rate for rape cases has increased from 59.4% in 2009-10
to 63.4% in the current year.
Stephen Doughty: I thank the Solicitor-General for
his answer. However, in 2011-12, the CPS took no
further action in nearly half the cases that involved a
rape allegation that were referred to it by the police.
What reasons have the Law Officers identified for that?
The Solicitor-General: It is difficult to prosecute some
cases. Often, it is the word of one person against the
word of another. It is important in those circumstances
to ensure that the victim who is the witness is properly
supported. In addition, it is vital to have corroborative
evidence and to use it effectively. It is sometimes said