§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what additional security measures are planned by her Department to deter and detect theft and fraud. [31792]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonThe Lord Chancellor's Department has a wide range of security measures in place to deter and detect theft and fraud. These include physical security standards for all departmental buildings, personnel security procedures and arrangements to safeguard valuable departmental assets. The security of buildings is reviewed on a periodic basis and security arrangements in general are reviewed in the light of any emerging threats or serious incidents. The Department's programme to achieve compliance with BS7799, the British Standard for Information Security Management, will quality assure existing practices and introduce improvements where these are found to be necessary. Measures include more extensive use of risk assessment, security education and awareness for staff and reviews of physical security arrangements.
The Department also maintains sound systems of internal control, which include controls to prevent and deter fraud. These systems are kept under review and are subject to regular audit coverage. All incidents of suspected or detected fraud are subject to rigorous investigation and appropriate action is taken against those found guilty of wrongdoing. Where fraud occurs, in addition to the investigation of the particular incident consideration is also given to whether controls need to be improved to prevent any further re-occurrence. The Department maintains an effective capability to investigate incidents of fraud. This includes a cadre of trained staff.
The Department has anti-fraud policies, together with policies on confidential reporting (whistleblowing), staff conduct and disciplinary procedures. These are communicated to all staff.