Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 6 October 2020 to Question 98157, what the change in the number of prosecutions has been for fuel fraud in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Prosecution is an important tool in tackling fuel fraud and is used where it is most effective. However, HMRC cannot prosecute every oils crime, and neither is it in the public interest to do so. HMRC reports cases to the Public Prosecution Service where there is sufficient evidence and it is considered proportionate across the range of fuel crime they detect.