§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Solicitor General how many staff worked for the Serious Fraud Office in each year from 1988–89 to 2003–04 (planned); and if she will make a statement.[99833]
§ The Solicitor-GeneralThe following table provides all the relevant Serious Fraud Office statistics in relation to numbers of staff employed by the SFO from its inception in April 1988 to 2003–04 (planned).
Financial Year Number of Permanent Staff Employed 1988–89 63 1989–90 Figure unavailable 1990–91 103 1991–92 117 1992–93 136 1993–94 138 1994–95 137 1995–96 162 1996–97 166 1997–98 154 1998–99 149 1999–2000 170 2000–01 178 2001002 233 2002–03 231 2003–04 (planned) 240 Staffing levels at the Serious Fraud Office have steadily increased over the last four years. This has been necessary in order to accept a higher caseload and to compensate, in part for the reduction in the number of police officers made available to the SFO. The SFO continues to be an important tool in the fight against white-collar crime and its dedicated and professional staff play a fundamental role in the fight against fraud.