§ Norman LambTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what effect the proposed merger of the Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise will have on(a) plans to establish an independent Customs and Excise prosecutions office and (b) the implementation of other recommendations in the Butterfield Review; and if he will make a statement; [171051]
- (2) if he will make a statement on the implementation of the recommendations of the Butterfield Review; [171059]
- (3) to what extent lawyers acting on behalf of HM Customs and Excise have relinquished responsibility for prosecutions resulting from Customs investigations; [171061]
- (4) pursuant to his written ministerial statement of 8 December 2003, Official Report, column 72–3WS on the Butterfield Review, when he intends to establish an
145W independent Customs and Excise prosecutions office; what practical issues he is discussing with the Attorney- General regarding the creation of an independent Customs and Excise prosecutions office; and if he will make a statement. [171062]
§ John HealeyAs indicated in the joint statements I made with the Attorney-General on 15 July and 8 December 2003, the Government have accepted the recommendations contained in Mr. Justice Butterfield's report in respect of Customs and Excise's investigative practices, and that offences investigated by Customs officers should be prosecuted by an independent prosecuting authority. These are being implemented.
Legislation will be required to establish fully the independent prosecuting authority and we aim to introduce this in the course of this year.
Prior to legislation being put in place, it is our aim to continue as far as possible the separation of the prosecution function from Customs and Excise begun following the Butler report of 14 April 2000. Various options are currently being examined with several steps already agreed, including appointing a new director for the organisation and amending the Memorandum of Understanding agreed on 9 January 2003—in line with the Gower Hammond report of 5 December 2000—between myself, the Attorney-General and the Commissioners of Customs and Excise. This Memorandum of Understanding concerns the conduct, resourcing and accountabilities for Customs and Excise prosecutions under the auspices of the Attorney-General as well as the arrangements for the prosecution of offences investigated by Customs officers. That Memorandum can be found at Appendix 9 of the Butterfield Report and makes it clear that since 1 April 2002 those lawyers who prosecute criminal cases arising from Customs investigations are accountable to the Attorney-General for the conduct of those prosecutions rather than to Treasury Ministers or the Commissioners of Customs and Excise. The amendments envisaged include the role of the new director.
Among the practical issues presently under discussion with the Attorney-General are the future relationship between the independent prosecuting authority, the new revenue department and the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA).