---

 
17 May 2004 : Column 35WS
 

Written Ministerial Statements

Monday 17 May 2004

HOME DEPARTMENT

Fraud Law Reform

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Paul Goggins): It is estimated that fraud currently costs the UK economy £14 billion a year. To equip law enforcement agencies to tackle the threat we face from fraud, the existing law needs to be modernised. The main problem is that the existing statutes focus on very specific types of fraudulent behaviour, so they do not effectively cover all the potential varieties of fraud and cannot keep pace with rapidly developing technology.

The Government is today publishing a consultation paper on fraud law reform. Its proposals are based on those made by the Law Commission in 2002, following a reference made to them in 1998 by the then Home Secretary. In particular he asked the Law Commission to consider whether a general offence of fraud would improve the criminal law. The Commission concluded that it would help to make the law simpler and more easily understandable for juries, defendants and the general public and make the prosecution process more efficient and effective.

The central proposal is that there should be a general offence of fraud which can be committed in three different ways: by false representation, by wrongfully failing to disclose information or by abuse of position. In each case the behaviour must be dishonest, and must intend to make a gain for the defendant or cause a loss to another. However the gain does not actually have to be obtained, as it does under the existing statutory offences.

We also propose a new offence of 'obtaining services dishonestly', to close a current loophole regarding fraudulent use of machines. The current offence of obtaining services by deception does not cover, for example, giving false details to access data from the internet for which a charge is made. This is because a machine has no mind and so cannot be deceived.

The consultation paper also seeks views on whether all behaviour which is currently prosecuted as conspiracy to defraud can be prosecuted under the proposed new law of fraud (or under other existing law) so that the common law offence of conspiracy to defraud can be repealed. It also seeks views on the possible extension of the existing offence of fraudulent trading, and on the creation of a new offence of possessing equipment to commit frauds. The proposals will cover England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

This legislative reform is only part of a wider set of current initiatives which will help tackle fraud. For its part the Government has:
 
17 May 2004 : Column 36WS
 

set up the Assets Recovery Agency and implemented the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. These will take the profit out of crime by increasing powers to find and recover money from those who benefit from and launder the proceeds of frauds and other crimes;

agreed extra resources for the Serious Fraud Office and City of London Police to tackle fraud;

included new procedures to deal with multiple offending in the current Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Bill;

included proposals to ensure effective incentives for criminals who give evidence against their associates, which will help in fraud cases, in the White Paper "One Step Ahead", published on 29 March 2004;

proposed new methods of tackling identity fraud in the White Paper on legislation on identity cards, published on 26 April 2004. The introduction of identity cards incorporating biometrics (such as finger or iris scans) will help people to identify themselves uniquely and protect their identity against fraud.

Combating fraud requires vigilance from all and we very much welcome the measures that financial institutions and the retail industry have taken to protect credit cards by a chip-and-PIN system. That step has been found to cut card fraud dramatically in other countries.

Cannabis Reclassification Campaign Evaluation

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Caroline Flint): On 1 April the Opposition spokesman for Home Affairs, the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden asked a parliamentary question regarding the evaluation of the effectiveness of the advertising campaign on the reclassification of cannabis.

I replied that the report was being collated and it was expected to be placed in the Library. I can announce that the results of the evaluation are being placed in the Library today. I thought I would take this opportunity to summarise the findings and highlight the next steps the Government is taking with regard to emphasising the risks and harms of taking cannabis.

The document 'Tracking the effectiveness of Advertising/Publicity for Reclassifying Cannabis from Class B to Class C' was produced by an independent research company, LVQ Research. It evaluated the Home Office cannabis campaign target under 18s which comprised of:

Four weeks of radio advertising the message that cannabis remained illegal;

The distribution of two leaflets: (1) Cannabis and the law, which provided clear and simple information on reclassification; and (2) Drugs and the law, which provided more general information about the law and penalties for Class A, B and C drugs;

Press coverage in youth magazines.

LVQ was commissioned to survey a representative sample of 14–17 year olds both before and after the advertising to measure the effectiveness of the campaign. The results were very positive and show that 93 per cent. of respondents were aware that cannabis is illegal which is a significant increase on pre-reclassification levels (88 per cent.); 81 per cent of respondents agreed that smoking cannabis can be harmful—again a significant increase on pre-reclassification levels (74 per cent.).
 
17 May 2004 : Column 37WS
 

It is certainly encouraging to note that most young people are aware of the illegal status of cannabis and this information will continue to be communicated through the FRANK campaign along with the health effects and risks of the drug. It is no less important to highlight the dangers to health of taking cannabis as well as the legal issues. We are now embarking on a targeted campaign to ensure that cannabis users are fully aware of the dangers to physical and mental health cannabis poses and to provide avenues where they can reduce intake and stop taking cannabis at all.

We will be producing information targeted at heavy and frequent users. Although that would traditionally be aimed at the 16–24 age group it could equally apply to older cannabis smokers in their thirties.

It is important that anyone can access this information and so we are also producing an all purpose FRANK leaflet in the next few months for light and less frequent smokers aimed mainly at 14–17 but could also be applicable to students in higher education and for parents of occasional users.

The final strand of the proposed education campaign is getting the message across about links with mental health. We are starting to work with relevant stakeholders to devise the appropriate messages and to agree the most effective means of getting them across, for example through mainstream mental health organisations and families of those with mental health problems.

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs reported that there was no proven causal link between taking cannabis and developing mental health problems it is recognised that an existing mental health problem can certainly be worsened by taking the drug. So the Government message will be clear the only way to protect your physical and mental health from the damage of cannabis is not to smoke it.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Iraq: Export Licence Applications

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Bill Rammell): Following consultation with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence, the Department of Trade and Industry recently approved a further licence to export military list goods to Iraq. The arms embargo against Iraq remains in place under United Nations Security Council resolution 1483 (2003), with the exception of arms and other related material required by the coalition provisional authority to serve the purposes of this and other related resolutions. As this includes promoting the development of free and fair media, Her Majesty's Government consider it appropriate to grant exemptions for the export of armoured vehicles for use by media organisations working in Iraq. Her Majesty's Government has included conditions for these licences, including a limit to the quantities. The export is consistent with the consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria. Future applications will continue to be assessed on a case by case basis against the UN embargo and consolidated criteria, taking into account the circumstances prevailing at the time.
 
17 May 2004 : Column 38WS
 

---