§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the cost of the Criminal Assets Recovery Agency. [16909]
§ Mr. Bob AinsworthOur current estimate is that it will cost approximately £3 million to establish the Agency and that its annual running costs will be around £13 million, assuming around 100 staff. This estimate covers both the Agency's operational activities and the training and accreditation services which its centre of excellence will provide to other agencies. Based on current assumptions about caseloads and amounts available for recovery, the Government expect that the Agency's receipts will exceed its running costs.
The figures given above are subject to revision as our planning for the Agency develops. They do not take into account the possibility, currently under discussion, that the Agency should assume a major role in the enforcement of confiscation orders other than those that it has itself obtained.