Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the proportion of police staff involved with investigating (a) fraud and (b) other types of economic crime in 2023 and 2024.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
A new National Fraud Squad has been established, consisting of a total of c.500 specialist investigators across the NCA, City of London Police and Regional Organised Crime Units. The NFS had c.300 new and existing investigators in post in May 2023 when the Department’s 2023 Fraud Strategy launched. A further c.100 were in post by January 2024, followed by another c.100 this year. The NFS is transforming the law enforcement response by taking a proactive, intelligence-led approach to identifying and disrupting the most serious fraudsters, domestically and overseas, jointly with government and industry.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, how many (a) attempted and (b) successful public prosecutions there have been of (a) British nationals and (b) individuals resident in the UK with respect to the general bribery offences under the Bribery Act 2010 broken down by (i) type or sub-type of offence and (ii) prosecuting organisation or agency.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
As Solicitor General I superintend the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The SFO is the lead agency in England and Wales for investigating and prosecuting serious international fraud, bribery, and corruption cases. The CPS also prosecutes bribery offences investigated by the police, committed either overseas or in England and Wales.
General bribery offences (sections 1 and 2 Bribery Act 2010)
The tables below show the number of individuals – British national or UK resident – charged and successful prosecuted (by way of guilty plea or conviction by jury) by the SFO under sections 1 and 2 of the Bribery Act 2010.
British national | UK resident | |
Individuals charged | 13 | 0 |
Individuals successfully prosecuted | 6 | 0 |
Bribery Act 2010 counts | Section 1 | Section 2 |
Counts charged | 31 | 5 |
Counts successfully prosecuted | 17 | 4 |
The CPS does not record or hold the requested data centrally and is not able to disaggregate its data based on nationality of offenders. The information can only be obtained by completing manual case file reviews, which would be at a disproportionate cost.
Section 7 Bribery Act 2010
The SFO has charged and successfully prosecuted (by way of Deferred Prosecution Agreement, guilty plea, or conviction by jury) 12 organisations under section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010.
The CPS has charged organisations under section 7 five times. However, this is not an indication of final outcome or if the charged offences were the substantive charges at finalisation. The CPS does not record or hold the requested data on prosecution outcomes at the offence-level centrally. The information can only be obtained by completing manual case file reviews, which would be at a disproportionate cost.
Section 45 Criminal Finances Act 2017
The SFO and CPS have not brought any charges under section 45 of the Criminal Finances Act 2017.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what information his Department holds on the number of (a) attempted and (b) successful public prosecutions under Section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010, broken down by (i) type or sub-type of offence and (ii) prosecuting organisation or agency.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
As Solicitor General I superintend the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The SFO is the lead agency in England and Wales for investigating and prosecuting serious international fraud, bribery, and corruption cases. The CPS also prosecutes bribery offences investigated by the police, committed either overseas or in England and Wales.
General bribery offences (sections 1 and 2 Bribery Act 2010)
The tables below show the number of individuals – British national or UK resident – charged and successful prosecuted (by way of guilty plea or conviction by jury) by the SFO under sections 1 and 2 of the Bribery Act 2010.
British national | UK resident | |
Individuals charged | 13 | 0 |
Individuals successfully prosecuted | 6 | 0 |
Bribery Act 2010 counts | Section 1 | Section 2 |
Counts charged | 31 | 5 |
Counts successfully prosecuted | 17 | 4 |
The CPS does not record or hold the requested data centrally and is not able to disaggregate its data based on nationality of offenders. The information can only be obtained by completing manual case file reviews, which would be at a disproportionate cost.
Section 7 Bribery Act 2010
The SFO has charged and successfully prosecuted (by way of Deferred Prosecution Agreement, guilty plea, or conviction by jury) 12 organisations under section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010.
The CPS has charged organisations under section 7 five times. However, this is not an indication of final outcome or if the charged offences were the substantive charges at finalisation. The CPS does not record or hold the requested data on prosecution outcomes at the offence-level centrally. The information can only be obtained by completing manual case file reviews, which would be at a disproportionate cost.
Section 45 Criminal Finances Act 2017
The SFO and CPS have not brought any charges under section 45 of the Criminal Finances Act 2017.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what information her Department holds on the number of (a) attempted and (b) successful public prosecutions under Section 45 of the Criminal Finances Act 2017, broken down by (a) type or sub-type of offence and (b) prosecuting organisation or agency.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
As Solicitor General I superintend the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The SFO is the lead agency in England and Wales for investigating and prosecuting serious international fraud, bribery, and corruption cases. The CPS also prosecutes bribery offences investigated by the police, committed either overseas or in England and Wales.
General bribery offences (sections 1 and 2 Bribery Act 2010)
The tables below show the number of individuals – British national or UK resident – charged and successful prosecuted (by way of guilty plea or conviction by jury) by the SFO under sections 1 and 2 of the Bribery Act 2010.
British national | UK resident | |
Individuals charged | 13 | 0 |
Individuals successfully prosecuted | 6 | 0 |
Bribery Act 2010 counts | Section 1 | Section 2 |
Counts charged | 31 | 5 |
Counts successfully prosecuted | 17 | 4 |
The CPS does not record or hold the requested data centrally and is not able to disaggregate its data based on nationality of offenders. The information can only be obtained by completing manual case file reviews, which would be at a disproportionate cost.
Section 7 Bribery Act 2010
The SFO has charged and successfully prosecuted (by way of Deferred Prosecution Agreement, guilty plea, or conviction by jury) 12 organisations under section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010.
The CPS has charged organisations under section 7 five times. However, this is not an indication of final outcome or if the charged offences were the substantive charges at finalisation. The CPS does not record or hold the requested data on prosecution outcomes at the offence-level centrally. The information can only be obtained by completing manual case file reviews, which would be at a disproportionate cost.
Section 45 Criminal Finances Act 2017
The SFO and CPS have not brought any charges under section 45 of the Criminal Finances Act 2017.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what was the total (a) number and (b) value of financial penalties (i) levied and (ii) collected by Companies House since October 2024.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Since October 2024, 234 financial penalties have been issued. These had a total value of £58,500. The volume of penalties issued will rise once initial work to deploy the required systems and processes has been completed.
5 financial penalties have been collected, totalling £1,250. Action to collect penalties will accelerate during summer 2025. Outstanding penalties will be referred to debt collection and litigation where appropriate.
This information is unaudited and subject to change. Audited figures will be made available when Companies House’s annual accounts are laid in Parliament. This is currently expected to be delivered in July 2025.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if his Department will hold a summit of international financial centres.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Tackling corruption and illicit finance is a central priority of the Foreign Secretary to support the Government's Plan for Change by supporting UK growth and national security, including safer streets. The Foreign Secretary's Campaign Against Illicit Finance, launched in November 2024, will work in partnership with the rest of His Majesty's Government to deliver a powerful whole of UK Government approach both at home and internationally. The Foreign Secretary is exploring a range of options to galvanise global collective action against this transnational threat, including the idea to host an international summit.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if her Department will publish its response to its consultation on Reforming anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing supervision, published on 30 June 2023.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Treasury’s consultation on reforming the UK’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing supervisory regime closed in September 2023. The Department is continuing to analyse responses to this consultation and remains committed to announcing next steps in due course.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the number of unexplained wealth orders that have been (a) requested by and (b) granted to the National Crime Agency each year from 2020 to 2024.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
Between 2020 to 2024, the National Crime Agency (NCA) submitted two applications for unexplained wealth orders (UWOs) in 2023 with one being granted within the same year and the other being granted in 2024.
There are a number of variables which impact an operational decision to seek a UWO including: the ease with which evidence can be obtained from overseas; whether it would be proportionate to go to the High Court; and suitability of alternative investigatory powers.
The NCA has several other well-established powers under Part 8 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, which they may use to compel information regarding the ownership of asset during an investigation such as Production Orders and Disclosure Orders. The NCA continues to review whether cases are suitable for a UWO.
The Government committed to report on the number of UWOs applied for and obtained each year under the Economic Crime Transparency and Enforcement Act 2022.
The report covering the 2023-24 period can be found at: Unexplained wealth orders: 2023 to 2024 annual report - GOV.UK
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, by how much funding allocations for breakfast clubs in schools will increase in each (a) local authority and (b) parliamentary constituency in (i) Birmingham and (ii) Solihull in each year for which data is available.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to introducing free breakfast clubs in every state-funded school with primary-aged pupils. The Autumn Budget 2024 confirmed over £30 million of funding for breakfast clubs for the 2025/26 financial year. This funding will enable us to fund up to 750 early adopters of the new breakfast clubs. Decisions about future funding for breakfast clubs will be taken as part of the next phase of the spending review.
All schools will receive £500 to cover initial set up costs and a lump sum of at least £1,000 per term, regardless of how many pupils are in attendance.
Schools will then receive a payment in arrears each term based on the number of pupils who accessed the club and the characteristics of pupils.
For the summer term this means there will be two payments. An initial fixed payment will be made to schools at the end of April 2025 for local authority maintained schools and at the beginning of May 2025 for academies. This will include the initial set up and lump sum payment. An arrears payment will be made to schools between October and December 2025, to cover the costs of running the breakfast club in the summer term 2025 (58 days).
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, if she will make an estimate of the number of unexplained wealth orders that have been (a) requested by and (b) granted to the Serious Fraud Office for each year from 2020 to 2024.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The SFO has made one application for an unexplained wealth order (UWO) since 2020. This UWO application was accepted by the court on 17 January 2025 and related to the recovery of property suspected to have been purchased with the proceeds of a £100 million fraud.