Source · Select Committees · Treasury Committee
Recommendation 8
8
Paragraph: 49
We recommend that the Government provides a breakdown of how the additional funding allocated to...
Recommendation
We recommend that the Government provides a breakdown of how the additional funding allocated to the Home Office in the Spending Review for fighting economic crime will be spent, and how much of that funding will reach crime-fighting agencies. The financial resources being brought to bear on the problem are fragmented and modest when compared to the losses attributed to fraudulent activity. Given the scale of the problem and the speed at which it is growing, we remain to be convinced that this extra resource will enable a sufficient response in the absence of a substantial reform of the anti-fraud infrastructure.
Paragraph Reference:
49
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
The government has developed a sustainable funding model that demonstrates its commitment to tackling economic crime. As aforementioned, the combination of last year’s Spending Review settlement and private sector contributions through the Economic Crime (Anti Money Laundering) levy will provide economic crime funding totalling around £400 million over the Spending Review period. Law enforcement activity on economic crime is conducted by a number of organisations, some of which, like the Serious Fraud Office, are narrowly focussed on this issue whereas others, such as territorial policing, work on the full range of crime types. This structure means that it is challenging to track the exact total of how much is being spent by the public sector to tackle economic crime specifically. Public-private partnerships, such as the NECC, are also helping to provide resources for coordinating a national response to economic crime. In addition to core funding, under the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme law enforcement agencies also receive a proportion of the assets recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act (2002) which can be used to fund future asset recovery work, as well as wider crime reduction projects.8 While exact allocations for the Spending Review period are not yet determined, around £100 million has been allocated to tackling fraud by the Home Office up until 2025. The focus of this spending will be on the law enforcement response and replacing the current Action Fraud system with a new Fraud and Cyber Reporting Analysis Service. For economic crime, investment will be focused on continuing to deliver the Suspicious Activity Reporting and Illicit Finance programmes, investing in teams and technology to recover criminal assets, as well as investing in new fraud and anti-money laundering capabilities. Specific allocations are subject to internal departmental allocations processes for each financial year. This funding will also support the second iteration of the Economic Crime Plan, which will set out the outcomes the private and public sector are working towards and how we intend to measure the impact of investment.