Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress she has made on creating a cross-departmental taskforce on tackling illicit trade involving i) his Department, (ii) HMRC, (iii) the Home Office and (iv) the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

On 19 May, the Home Office announced a £30 million crackdown targeting cash intensive business such as barber shops, vape stores, mini-marts and sweet shops operating on our high streets, over three years. This includes the following activities:

• £20 million in funding towards an enhanced law enforcement response, including establishing a new multi-agency coordination cell based in the National Crime Agency.
• £6m to uplift Trading Standards capabilities
• A new cross government High Street Organised Crime Unit has also been established to bring together government departments, including DBT, MHCLG and HMRC, policing partners and Trading Standards. Overseen by the Security Minister, Dan Jarvis, the unit will be responsible for identifying what more is needed – from stronger powers to better co-ordination – to stop this criminal activity from happening in the first place.
• The remainder of the funding is split between HMRC and Immigration Enforcement.

We are also working closely with MHCLG to ensure our policy proposals align with their upcoming High Streets Strategy.