Source · Select Committees · Justice Committee
Recommendation 7
7
Deferred
Paragraph: 31
Set minimum standard of care for fraud victims across all police forces by 2023.
Recommendation
The Government should set a minimum standard of care that a victim of fraud can expect to receive when reporting a crime and ensure that all 43 police forces in England and Wales are working with victim care units to provide victims with effective support by the end of 2023.
Government Response Summary
The government deflected the recommendation about victim care standards, acknowledging an issue regarding increasing compensation orders in confiscation proceedings and stating it would consider legislative reforms based on a Law Commission review.
Paragraph Reference:
31
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
The Government acknowledge this important issue of whether the court should be able to increase the amount of an existing compensation order made in connection with confiscation proceedings, similar to the way it can already increase the amount payable under a confiscation order, should there be evidence of further benefit from the criminal conduct concerned. We are recovering more criminal assets than ever before: £354 million was recovered from the total proceeds of crime in 2021/22, 61% higher than the previous year. However, we recognise there is more to be done to strengthen the law. In 2018, the Government Fraud and the Justice system: Government Response 7 asked the Law Commission to review this part of the law in detail. On 8 November 2022, the Law Commission published a detailed review of Confiscation proceedings, including compensation during confiscation proceedings. We will consider this issue further to decide what legislative reforms are needed to improve confiscation. Investigating Fraud 1.1