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Money Lenders

Answer

I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

The Financial Services Authority is not responsible for tackling illegal money lending. Until April 2012 the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills directly funded trading standards to take on complex cases which crossed individual local authority boundaries. This included setting up Tackling Illegal Money Lending Teams for England, Wales and Scotland.

On 1 April 2012, the Government published its response to the consultation on Empowering and Protecting Consumers, which set out the decision to establish a National Trading Standards Board (NTSB) for England and Wales. During 2012-13, the NTSB has continued to fund the delivery of the Illegal Money Lending Team in England, while the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) fund provision in Scotland.

Between April 2004 and April 2012, the projects had:

Identified over 2,500 illegal money lenders and arrested over 600 illegal money lenders and secured over 220 prosecutions, resulting in prison sentencing totalling over 117 years—some cases were connected to other, more serious criminal activity which took precedence over illegal money lending prosecutions.

Seized over £2.1 million in cash.

Identified over £28 million of assets that could be seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Helped over 16,000 victims of loan sharks.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

134631; 555 cc920-1W

Session

2012-13

Subjects

Money lenders Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk