House of Commons
14 October 2026
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House of Commons
Follow its sittings00:18 - 00:23
Speaker 2
Order, order. We start with questions to the Attorney General. Ian Sollom.
00:23 - 00:25
Speaker 1
Number one please, Mr Speaker.
00:25 - 00:47
Speaker 7
Welcome. Thank you, Mr Speaker. We are determined to make the UK a more hostile environment for all forms of economic crime, including fraud. In the last financial year, the CPS completed over 8,000 fraud and forgery prosecutions, which is an increase of around 10% compared to the year before. And we are not stopping there.
00:47 - 01:00
Speaker 6
In June, the CPS launched its new serious economic and organised crime strategy, which is modernising its response and strengthening capability to address increasingly sophisticated crime.
01:00 - 01:41
Speaker 4
Thank you, Mr Speaker, and I thank the Minister for that answer. Fraud is growing and AI is making it easier to commit at scale. And while cases can be complex, too often victims tell me that they feel abandoned by the system. Now, he mentions the CPS's strategy in June. That actually folds fraud in with organised crime and national security, and none of its seven priorities is actually about victims, unlike the previous economic crime strategy.
So how will the Attorney General make sure that fraud victims are not lost in the CPS's new approach?
01:41 - 02:06
Speaker 7
Well, the honourable gentleman will be aware that organised crime is an important part of fraud and the two do go hand in hand. And of course, the SFO investigates the most serious types of fraud and bribery and other other matters. But we are very conscious of the fact that tens of thousands of individuals of our constituents are the people who are affected by that, and that will be central to this this aim.
02:06 - 02:22
Speaker 8
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. Is the Solicitor General able to update the house on whether or not he believes there are sufficient asset recovery powers to make sure that crime doesn't pay, and can he explain how those powers are being used?
02:22 - 02:53
Speaker 7
Yes, Mr Speaker, the answer to that question is we have taken considerable steps along that that line. Alongside securing convictions, prosecutors can use confiscation and asset recovery powers to seize the proceeds of offending. From 2020 to 2025, the CPS recovered over 530 million pounds from confiscation orders, of which 102 million was paid to victims in compensation.
02:53 - 02:57
Speaker 3
Tom Collins. Question two, Mr Speaker.