§ Mr. WallaceTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many complaints of alleged fraud have been made to the serious fraud unit of the Crown Office in each year since 1986; and how many(a) prosecutions and (b) convictions have followed thereon.
§ Mr. LangThe Crown Office fraud and specialist service unit is an integral part of the Crown Office and deals with all inquiries relating to fraud and related offences. A number of the more serious of these inquiries are investigated by the staff of the unit and others are referred to the procurator fiscal for attention, often with advice and assistance from the staff of the unit. Precise figures are not available to show how many complaints of fraud have been received in each year since 1986, although well in excess of 100 reports are considered annually. Of