§ 27. Mr. Ben Chapman (Wirral, South)How often he meets the Director of the Serious Fraud Office to discuss the work of the office. [74108]
§ The Solicitor-General (Mr. Ross Cranston)The Attorney-General and I meet the Director of the Serious Fraud Office regularly. We also meet on an ad hoc basis when circumstances determine.
§ Mr. ChapmanDoes my hon. and learned Friend agree that, by the nature of things, the Serious Fraud Office develops specialist, esoteric but sophisticated skills? Does he also agree that those are not always shared with the police? Does that suggest that more work and more cases should be handled by the SFO?
§ The Solicitor-GeneralMy hon. Friend will know that, as a result of the comprehensive spending review, £5.6 million extra has been allocated to the SFO for the next three years. The SFO works with the police; it depends on the police referring cases. The two work together; police officers work with the SFO. The SFO deals with complex and multi-disciplinary fraud, and is doing so successfully. Its conviction rate has risen considerably.
§ Mr. John Bercow (Buckingham)Can the hon. and learned Gentleman tell the House now, or be good enough to inform me of in writing later, the average length of time between the start of an investigation by the Serious Fraud office and a decision to prosecute? Do the Government plan to improve targets to achieve better service?
§ The Solicitor-GeneralThe hon. Gentleman will be very pleased to know that, as a result of the comprehensive spending review agreement between the SFO and the Government, the SFO has determined to reduce average time from accepting a case and completing investigations to 17.5 months, and to reduce to 16 months the average length of prosecution between transfer and committal on one hand and verdict on the other.