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10 May 2004 : Column 144W—continued
Butterfield Review
Norman Lamb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what effect the proposed merger of the Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise will have on (a) plans to establish an independent Customs and Excise prosecutions office and (b) the implementation of other recommendations in the Butterfield Review; and if he will make a statement; [171051]
(2) if he will make a statement on the implementation of the recommendations of the Butterfield Review; [171059]
(3) to what extent lawyers acting on behalf of HM Customs and Excise have relinquished responsibility for prosecutions resulting from Customs investigations; [171061]
(4) pursuant to his written ministerial statement of 8 December 2003, Official Report, column 72–3WS on the Butterfield Review, when he intends to establish an
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independent Customs and Excise prosecutions office; what practical issues he is discussing with the Attorney-General regarding the creation of an independent Customs and Excise prosecutions office; and if he will make a statement. [171062]
John Healey: As indicated in the joint statements I made with the Attorney-General on 15 July and 8 December 2003, the Government have accepted the recommendations contained in Mr. Justice Butterfield's report in respect of Customs and Excise's investigative practices, and that offences investigated by Customs officers should be prosecuted by an independent prosecuting authority. These are being implemented.
Legislation will be required to establish fully the independent prosecuting authority and we aim to introduce this in the course of this year.
Prior to legislation being put in place, it is our aim to continue as far as possible the separation of the prosecution function from Customs and Excise begun following the Butler report of 14 April 2000. Various options are currently being examined with several steps already agreed, including appointing a new director for the organisation and amending the Memorandum of Understanding agreed on 9 January 2003—in line with the Gower Hammond report of 5 December 2000—between myself, the Attorney-General and the Commissioners of Customs and Excise. This Memorandum of Understanding concerns the conduct, resourcing and accountabilities for Customs and Excise prosecutions under the auspices of the Attorney-General as well as the arrangements for the prosecution of offences investigated by Customs officers. That Memorandum can be found at Appendix 9 of the Butterfield Report and makes it clear that since 1 April 2002 those lawyers who prosecute criminal cases arising from Customs investigations are accountable to the Attorney-General for the conduct of those prosecutions rather than to Treasury Ministers or the Commissioners of Customs and Excise. The amendments envisaged include the role of the new director.
Among the practical issues presently under discussion with the Attorney-General are the future relationship between the independent prosecuting authority, the new revenue department and the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA).
Credit Unions
Mr. Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had recently with the Association of British Credit Unions Ltd. on expansion of credit unions in the UK. [168800]
Ruth Kelly: Treasury Ministers and officials meet with representatives of ABCUL regularly to discuss a wide range of issues. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings, as provided for under Exemption 7(b) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. Treasury meetings are conducted in accordance with the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Code, as appropriate.
Customs and Excise
Norman Lamb:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) when HM Customs and Excise were first
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informed of the discovery of the informant record for Mr. Alfred Allington; and for what reasons the existence of this record was not referred to in the Butterfield Review; [171048]
(2) if he will make a statement on effects of excise diversion fraud on London City bonded warehouses; [171049]
(3) whether he intends to re-open the Butterfield Inquiry following recent court evidence concerning Mr. Alfred Allington's relationship with HM Customs and Excise; [171058]
(4) pursuant to his written ministerial statement of 8 December 2003, if he will make a further statement on the practices and procedures of disclosure, associated investigation techniques and case management in HM Customs and Excise criminal cases; [171060]
(5) when (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department were first informed of the existence of the informant record for Mr. Alfred Allington; and if he will make a statement; [171074]
(6) how many prosecutions relating to London City Bond (a) have been reviewed, (b) are to be reviewed and (c) have been overturned. [171075]
John Healey: The effects of the excise diversion frauds involving the London City Bond warehouse, and the validity of HM Customs and Excise's practices and procedures of disclosure, associated investigation techniques and case management in criminal cases, were fully considered in independent reviews by Mr. John Roques and Mr. Justice Butterfield, both of which are available in the Library of the House. Recommendations arising from those reviews are being implemented, as announced most recently in the Written Ministerial Statements of 15 July and 8 December 2003 by the Attorney-General and I.
24 London City Bond-related cases have been reviewed. There are no further cases to be reviewed. 48 convictions, in 8 cases, have to date been overturned on appeal, of which 5 appeals (totalling 35 convictions) had been heard before the Customs and Excise Prosecutions Office launched its wider review of cases following the decision in November 2002 to offer no evidence in London City Bond-related cases before Liverpool Crown Court.
Customs has trawled all areas of the Department for any material of potential relevance. Where further disclosable material has been uncovered, it has been passed directly to the Metropolitan Police to assist their investigation into the circumstances of the collapse of the London City Bond cases, and to Mr. Justice Butterfield. That trawl, by Customs officials, brought to light the record relating to Mr. Alfred Allington at the end of June 2003; the documents were handed over to Mr. Justice Butterfield in mid July. The Customs and Excise Prosecutions Office informed the Attorney-General of the Alf Allington informant record issue on 20 January 2004, as part of a general briefing about the review of London City Bond-related cases. A copy of that submission was sent to me on that date. It would not be proper to comment on the significance of this
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material, and whether it gives rise to any need to re-open Mr. Justice Butterfield's review, until any other proceedings to which it is relevant have been completed.
Employment (Oldham, West and Royton)
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the (a) change and (b) percentage change was in full-time permanent jobs in Oldham West and Royton from 1997 to 31 December 2003; [170903]
(2) how many new jobs have been created in Oldham West and Royton since 1997. [170904]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Meacher dated 10 May 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions about full-time jobs and jobs created in Oldham West and Royton. (170903, 170904)
While statistics of jobs created are not available explicitly, statistics from surveys enable comparisons to be made of net changes, in numbers of jobs, from year to year.
The attached table shows the information requested, relating to all jobs and full-time jobs, in Oldham West and Royton Parliamentary Constituency, for 1997 and the latest year available, 2002.
Information is not available about whether the jobs were permanent.
| Full-Time | Total | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of employees | ||
| 1997 | 31,400 | 45,000 |
| 2002 | 32,100 | 45,300 |
| Change from 1997 to 2002 | ||
| Absolute | 700 | 300 |
| Percentage | 2.3 | 0.7 |
(40) Employee jobs only, not self-employed jobs
Source:
1997; Annual Employment Survey, rescaled 2002; Annual Business Inquiry (ABI)
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