Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on the national economy of counterfeit coinage within general distribution.

Maintaining a coinage that is robust against the threat of counterfeiting is an important objective for HM Treasury as the issuing authority for UK coins. It is important to have a currency in which there is widespread confidence as well as protecting taxpayers and businesses from the cost of counterfeit coins.

HM Treasury and The Royal Mint work together to closely monitor the counterfeiting levels of UK coins.

On 28 March 2017, a new 12-sided £1 coin will be introduced to combat high levels of counterfeiting of the current £1 coin. Approximately one in thirty of the current £1 coins in circulation are counterfeits.