Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans to appoint a person independent of the private sector and Government to sit on the Economic Crime Strategic Board (ECSB); and if he will review the composition of the ECSB to ensure it is representative of (a) non-government organisations, (b) academia, (c) victims’ groups and (d) civil society.

The Economic Crime Strategic Board (ECSB) is co-chaired by the Chancellor and the Home Secretary and its membership comprises senior representatives from the organisations most critical to tackling economic crime. This includes senior officials, heads of law enforcement and representatives from the private sector (including from the legal and accountancy, insurance, estate agency and financial sectors).

The agendas and minutes for the ECSB meetings as well as the list of attendees are publicly available and can be found on gov.uk/crime-justice-and-law/crime-prevention.

The Government has worked with Civil Society Organisations to form the independently run Civil Society Organisations Steering Group, which has met twice since its inception in March 2020. This body provides a mechanism for civil society organisations to comment on the delivery of the Economic Crime Plan and the work of the ECSB and to proactively raise issues which it thinks the board should consider. The ECSB receives the minutes from the latest meeting.