My hon. Friend has drawn my attention to a recent case involving two constituents which raises issues about the way our current provisions for dealing with confiscation and compensate operate.
The Fraud Review, commissioned by the Government in 2005, conducted a short survey of fraud victims from a random selection of City of London prosecutions. It was apparent from the survey that victims were predominantly concerned that fraud offences would not be repeated. Victims also hoped to be compensated for their losses, although they had no general expectation that this would happen.
The Fraud Review recommended that the Crown court should have wider powers to deal with the consequences of fraud offences. The Government have agreed that these recommendations need to be considered further, and that consideration will include wider powers to compensate victims of fraud offences. In relation to wider powers the views and experiences of victims will be one of the main considerations.
In giving further consideration to these issues, the Government will consider any lessons we might learn from other jurisdictions.