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Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Disclosure of Information) Order 2008

rose to move, That the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Disclosure of Information) Order 2008. The noble Lord said: It will make sense to take the two orders together and for me to speak also to the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (Disclosure of Information by SOCA) Order 2008. I hope that Members of the Committee have had the opportunity to read the Explanatory Memorandum that accompanies these two related orders. As I will explain, the policy behind these orders is straightforward and purely consequential due to amendments made by the recent Serious Crime Act 2007 to provisions relating to recovering the proceeds of crime. I hope, therefore, we can be brief, as I contend that the nature of these orders is not controversial. Perhaps the real aid I can provide to the Committee is in explaining the quite technical drafting in these orders which does nothing more than to achieve simple, consistent and continuing policy. The recent Serious Crime Act 2007 has abolished the Assets Recovery Agency. Amongst other functions, the agency had been the sole body in England, Wales and Northern Ireland which could investigate and pursue the civil recovery of the proceeds of crime. Civil recovery provides for the recovery of property which has been obtained directly or indirectly through crime. These are civil proceedings before the High Court and therefore do not require a criminal conviction. Essentially, the recovery action is against the property rather than the person. To support the agency in this work, Part 10 of the Proceeds of Crime Act provided for the disclosure of information to and by the director of the agency. Significantly, for the purposes of the matter before us, the persons who could disclose to the director of the agency and the purposes for which he could disclose information were added to by the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Disclosure of Information) Order 2003. That order was subject to a debate in this House in 2003 before it came into force on 24 February 2003. Following the abolition of the Assets Recovery Agency, its functions of investigating and pursuing civil recovery has in England and Wales effectively passed to the Serious Organised Crime Agency, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Serious Fraud Office and the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office. In Northern Ireland, the functions have effectively passed to the Serious Organised Crime Agency, the Serious Fraud Office and the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland. That change came into effect on 1 April this year. The provisions for the disclosure of information in Part 10 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 were amended by the 2007 Act to refer to the Director of Public Prosecutions, the director of the Serious Fraud Office and the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland. Equivalent amendments were also made to relevant provisions in the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 for the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office and the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 for SOCA. Importantly, the additions to the provisions for the disclosure of information made by the Proceeds of Crime 2002 (Disclosure of Information) Order 2003 were not transferred to the successor agencies by the Serious Crime Act. These are to be made by the orders before the House today. The orders merely ensure that organisations which inherited the Assets Recovery Agency’s work and functions can access the same information sources that were available to the Agency and can disclose the same information onwards. They also ensure that these organisations can use the information obtained to conduct investigations and proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to enable the recovery of criminally obtained assets. There is no change in policy. The orders do not cover the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office, which also inherited functions from the Assets Recovery Agency. It is covered by other legislation, has been made aware of the issue and will take any remedial action, legislative or otherwise, as necessary. I beg to move. Moved, That the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the Proceeds Of Crime Act 2002 (Disclosure of Information) Order 2008. 21st report from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments.—(Lord West of Spithead.)