Economic Crime: Planned Government Bill Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateStephen Timms
Main Page: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)Department Debates - View all Stephen Timms's debates with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
(2 years, 10 months ago)
Commons ChamberWe are really aware of the issues and we appreciate the comments in that report. As that Bill progresses, we will consider them with all due process.
The introduction of universal credit has led to a big increase in fraud. The current growth of economic crime and corruption poses an existential threat to financial services—one of our biggest and most successful business sectors—and therefore to the UK economy as a whole. Does the Minister accept that effectively tackling this scourge urgently requires an economic crime Bill?
I dispute the right hon. Gentleman’s comments about universal credit, but yes, tackling economic crime requires legislation. That is why we remain undiminished in our appetite to push this forward.