Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to help tackle the use of cash intensive businesses for money laundering.

The Government is committed to tackling the use of cash intensive businesses for money laundering.

As part of the Economic Crime Plan 2 commitment, the Government has worked with the National Crime Agency, The Financial Conduct Authority and UK Finance to develop a set of economic crime priorities, which include cash-based money laundering. This will ensure that public and private sectors allocate resources to where they can have the most impact on a threat. The Government has also committed to recruit 475 new roles by March 2026 to help clamp down on money laundering- increasing prevention, detection and disrupting illegal activity.

In the 2025 Autumn Budget, the Government allocated £10 million per year for three years to tackle high street illegality. This funding includes the creation of the High Streets Illegality Taskforce, enhancements to Trading Standards capabilities and support for at least 45 additional law enforcement officers. Hosted by the Home Office, the cross-government Taskforce will develop a strategic long-term policy response to money laundering and associated illegality on UK high streets, including other forms of economic crime, tax evasion, and illegal working, and tackling the systemic vulnerabilities that criminals exploit.

More broadly, we expect to publish a new Anti-Money Laundering and Asset Recovery (AMLAR) strategy in the 2026. Developed jointly with HMT and in partnership with the private sector, the strategy will set a clear direction for strengthening the UK’s approach to tackling money laundering and boosting asset recovery.