Confiscation Orders – progress review inquiry
Closed
What the inquiry looked at
“Confiscation orders are the main way through which the government carries out its policy to deprive criminals of the proceeds of their crimes. The National Audit Office (NAO) reported on the administration of confiscation orders in December 2013, concluding that the process was not working well enough and did not provide value for money. The Public Accounts Committee subsequently held an inquiry and published a report which made six recommendations for the system’s improvement , which were accepted by the government. Since the Public Accounts inquiry in 2014, the government’s administration of criminal confiscation orders has seen a greater focus on enforcing the orders. Many of the fundamental weaknesses identified two years ago by the Public Accounts Committee remain, however, and the system of managing confiscation orders has not been transformed. The NAO's follow-up review has found that the criminal justice bodies involved have made some progress against most of the Committee's recommendations. Despite this, the NAO considers that the only recommendation which has been fully addressed is that the sanctions for non-payment should be strengthened. The Home Office introduced new legislation which includes longer default prison sentences and powers for judges to impose travel bans for non-payers. It is too early to conclude, however, whether these changes will prove successful. Since 2014, the criminal justice bodies have improved how they administer confiscation orders, with greater focus on enforcement and better joint working across bodies including the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office. This has led to a £22 million (16%) increase in confiscated income in two years and the highest amount collected to date. The number of orders imposed, however, has fallen by 7% and are made in only a tiny fraction of total crimes.”
The committee's words, from the inquiry page on parliament.uk ↗.
What it found
In March 2014, the previous Committee concluded that poor implementation of the confiscation order system had severely hampered its effectiveness. That Committee’s six recommendations to improve the system were accepted by the Home Office who committed to implement them by the end of 2015. We do not accept the Home Office’s assertion that 5 of the 6 recommendations have been implemented, as it is clear that many of the specific actions proposed by the previous Committee in those recommendations have not been taken. We are disappointed by the lack of progress in improving the system. While the amount confiscated has increased from £133 million in 2012–13 to £175 million in 2015–16, the number of confiscation orders imposed has fallen and debt has soared to £1.9 billion. Furthermore, weaknesses previously identified, such as unclear objectives and ineffective incentives for the many bodies involved in the system and poor performance information, still remain.
What the government said
No government response is linked to this report.
How the inquiry ran
Each dot is a dated item listed on this page, from the inquiry's opening on 23 March 2016 to its close on 4 January 2018.
- Oral evidence 2 sessions
- Report 5 Jul 2016
- Correspondence 2 letters
What it recommended
The committee's recommendations are not listed here yet. Read them in 7th Report - Confiscation orders: progress review ↗ on parliament.uk.
Evidence
Oral evidence sessions 2
- 3 May 2016No witnesses recordedparliament.uk ↗
- 18 Apr 2016No witnesses recordedparliament.uk ↗