Clause 5 - Advice and assistance
Proceeds of Crime Bill
5:00 pm
Mr Bob Ainsworth (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Home Office; Coventry North East, Labour)
The amendment would mean that the director would not be required to give the Secretary of State
``advice and assistance which he reasonably requires''
relating to the operation of the legislation and the reduction of crime. As drafted, the clause enables the Secretary of State to take advantage of the director's expertise and seek his advice and assistance when it is reasonable for him to do so. The clause sets out the circumstances in which such advice and assistance may be required and makes it clear that advice and assistance must be on matters connected with the operation of the Act. It also makes it clear that, within that limitation, advice and assistance should be designed to help the Secretary of State in the exercise of his function of reducing crime. The director will not be the only source of advice on the legislation, but he will be a key source on certain aspects that are solely within the remit of the director. The operation of civil recovery in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is an obvious area in which the director will have the expertise to advise the Home Secretary.
In addition, the director might, at the request of the Secretary of State, want to propose amendments to the Government's asset recovery strategy and the targets for recovering the proceeds of crime. Those would be considered by the assets recovery committee and submitted to the Home Secretary for approval. We want the director to discuss any proposed amendments covering his function and that of other members of the assets recovery committee with members of the committee. The director may also wish to give advice and assistance concerning money laundering, although he has no specific function in that area. The clause will enable him to do that if requested by the Secretary of State.
The clause will contribute to the overall goal of reducing crime by improving the recovery of assets that derive from unlawful activity. It will ensure that the director is able to play a full role in contributing to the Government's overall crime reduction targets by providing valuable assistance and advice to the Secretary of State.