Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many prosecutions there have been following an investigation by NHS Protect in each of the past five years; and how many of those prosecutions have been for offences related to (a) fraud, (b) violence, (c) bribery, (d) corruption, (e) criminal damage, (f) theft, (g) market-fixing and (h) other unlawful action.

NHS Protect does not investigate criminal damage, theft or violence. These are matters for the police to pursue. NHS Protect can, if appropriate, take prosecution action independently in cases of violence against National Health Service staff where the police and Crown Prosecution Service do not take cases forward.

The number of prosecutions by NHS Protect in each category for the last five years is shown in the following table.