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Written question asked by David Hamilton (Labour) on Wednesday, 29 October 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 3 November 2008. It was answered by Ian Pearson (Labour) on Monday, 3 November 2008 on behalf of the Treasury.

Counterfeit Banknotes

Question
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many counterfeit banknotes have been seized in the UK in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and how many purported to be issued by (a) the Bank of England, (b) Scottish banks and (c) banks in Northern Ireland;
Answer

The Bank of England is responsible for collating statistics on counterfeits of its own banknotes and these are published on the Bank's website at:"http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/about/counterfeits.htm"Figures for the total number of Bank of England counterfeits removed from circulation for the years 2003 to 2007 are shown in the following table.

thousand
Numbers discovered excluding bulk seizures Bulk seizures by the police
2003 366 23
2004 330 311
2005 505 38
2006 384 19
2007 290 15

Bulk seizures are notes seized by the police before they enter circulation.Scottish and Northern Ireland banknote issuers are responsible for collating statistical information on counterfeits of their own banknote issue. The Scottish banks publish their statistics on the Committee of Scottish Clearing banks website at:"http://www.scotbanks.org.uk/banknote_counterfeit.php"The Northern Irish banknote issuers do not publish statistics on counterfeits of their banknote issue.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
482 c96W; 232811
Session
2007-08
Subjects
Bank notes Forgery
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk