New Clause (Hansard, 5 June 2000)

§ Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
I have a question or two about the new clause that the amendment would insert. It would 126 place on the authority an obligation to co-operate and share information with other persons (whether in the United Kingdom or elsewhere). What restrictions are placed on that? For example, is it envisaged that the authority will share information with private investigators, or will disclosure be confined to the public sector? As it stands, the only restriction is that the persons to whom information will be given must be connected with the prevention or detection of financial crime. That is a wide definition. Many bodies and people could claim to be preventing or detecting crime, but it would nevertheless be unwise to share information with them.
Will information be provided only on a reciprocal basis? Otherwise, we could disclose information to parties, particularly in other countries, without any reciprocal arrangement—they may have banking secrecy laws, for instance. I believe it wrong for this to be a one-way street. Perhaps the Minister could enlighten us a little about how the new clause will operate.

§ Mr. John Butterfill (Bournemouth, West)
In her response, will the Minister say what the definition of "crime" will be? What may be a crime in this country may not be a crime in some other regulatory regime, and vice versa. What will be the test of what amounts to a financial crime? Will any other jurisdiction that may have a completely different definition of crime be able to request this information from us, even though the act concerned may not be a criminal act in this country?

§ Miss Melanie Johnson
The right hon. Member for Wells (Mr. Heathcoat-Amory) asked to whom disclosure may be made. I refer to the restrictions contained in part XXIII, which will apply in this case as elsewhere. Financial crime is defined in clause 6(3), and that definition of crime is to be understood in this context.
I hope that that answers the points raised, but if the right hon. Member for Wells or the hon. Member for Bournemouth, West (Mr. Butterfill) have further queries I shall undertake to write to them, as there is no amendment on that subject.

§ Mr. Heathcoat-Amory
With the leave of the House, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I am grateful to the Minister for her offer to write to us. She clearly does not have the information that we requested. She points me to other provisions in the Bill, but it would have helped if she had answered the questions that my hon. Friend and I asked. I think that we will take up her offer to enlighten us by correspondence.
I am slightly surprised that the Government, having tabled amendments at this very late stage, apparently do not have the answers to our questions at their fingertips. We are trying to be sparing with our questions, given the short time we have in which to debate these important amendments. When we alight on something of more general interest, it would assist if we could have immediate answers.

§ Miss Johnson
I thought that I had in outline answered both the main points that the right hon. Gentleman and his hon. Friend made. I offered to write to them only in the event of their wanting more detail on those outlines— 127 if, indeed, there is more to be said. I am happy to supply more information, but I believe that they have had a basic answer to both points.