Confiscation Orders
(asked on 6th June 2014) - View Source
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what value of outstanding confiscation orders were written off in each year since 2010.
The value of confiscation orders reduced or written off from 2010 to 31st May 2014 is recorded in the table below.
Value of Confiscation Orders Written Off | ||||||
Category | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 (to 31/5/204) | Total |
DTOA Default Served | £47,101 | £882,064 | £1,162,397 | £22,082 | £0 | £2,113,644 |
Inadequacy | £5,707,742 | £8,924,637 | £3,673,845 | £11,815,275 | £8,686,466 | £38,807,965 |
POCA s24 Discharge | £70,030 | £780,328 | £335,969 | £483,443 | £167,282 | £1,837,052 |
POCA s25 Discharge | £1,479 | £980 | £797 | £1,179 | £105 | £4,540 |
Reconsideration of Available Assets | £8,019,707 | £21,235,494 | £16,739,659 | £20,158,107 | £5,654,534 | £71,807,501 |
Grand Total | £13,846,059 | £31,823,503 | £21,912,667 | £32,480,086 | £14,508,387 | £114,570,702 |
Crime has fallen since 2010 and tough sentences are used to punish criminals. Confiscation orders provide a key addition to punishment, and are one of the key mechanisms available to Government to ensure that criminals are deprived of the proceeds of their crimes. Confiscation orders help to disrupt and deter criminality, and reassure the public that crime does not pay.
All debts owed through confiscation orders are rigorously pursued by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) and other enforcement agencies. This has led to the amount defendants repaid from their criminal activity reaching an all time high of £137.2 million in 2013/14, an increase of 39% since 2008/9.
Orders can be reduced or written off in certain limited circumstances – for example when in individual circumstances the remaining debt is so small it is not cost effective to collect it or when it is proven that the offender does not have the assets amounting to the order value, we are required to do so by law or, if the Order was made under the Drug Trafficking Act 1994, when the offender has served their full default sentence.
HMCTS is seeking a commercial partner to help increase collections, reduce enforcement costs and, and crucially, ensure more criminals pay.
The Serious Crime Bill, currently being debated in Parliament, includes provisions to further improve the current confiscation system including the enforcement of confiscation orders.
The continuing improvement the Agencies are making combined with our future plans will make sure that more criminals pay, further disrupt criminality, reassure the public that crime does not pay, and help ensure that taxpayers get better value for money,