To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reported instances of (a) fraud and (b) forgery there have been in each year since 1997. (280669)

Detailed statistics on recorded fraud and forgery offences from 1997 onwards are published in Table 2.04 of ‘Crime in England and Wales 2007-08’. A copy of the table can be accessed at:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs08/hosb0708chap2.xls

The Fraud Act 2006 came into force on 15 January 2007 and re-defined offences in the fraud and forgery offence group. At the same time, the counting of cheque and credit card fraud changed from a ‘per fraudulent transaction’ to a ‘per account’ basis. These counting rule changes have significantly reduced both the bureaucracy on the police together with the overall total of fraud and forgery offences recorded by them.

For these reasons, the annual Home Office publication ‘Crime in England and Wales’ focuses on fraud and forgery offences identified by organisations within the industry such as APACS (the UK payments association).