Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many FTE staff in his Department have worked on tackling fraud and economic crime in each of the last five years.

HM Treasury takes a flexible and dynamic approach to resourcing to meet Government priorities. We have teams delivering priority work including economic crime reform. However, we do not routinely record the number of full time equivalent civil servants who work on individual policy initiatives.

Most of the responsibility for tackling fraud and economic crime is led by the Departments tasked with delivering Government policy. Investigations and enforcement activities are also undertaken by regulatory or enforcement agencies, including the Financial Conduct Authority and National Crime Agency respectively. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), part of HM Treasury, ensures financial sanctions are properly understood and enforced and investigates all reported suspected breaches.