Clause 9 - Defendant's benefit
Proceeds of Crime Bill
12:00 pm
Mr George Foulkes (Minister of State, Scottish Office; Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Labour/Co-operative)
Hon. Members will recall that clause 8 provides that the amount of a confiscation order is the amount of the defendant's benefit or the available amount, whichever is lower. Clause 9 explains how the defendant's benefit is decided. Subsection (2) provides that the court must take account of conduct and property obtained until the time that the court takes its decision. Subsections (3) and (4) are designed to avoid double counting the same conduct. Hon. Members will note that the court will now be required to deduct confiscation orders previously made against the same person in any part of the UK. The current legislation has developed piecemeal on this point, and we seek to rectify certain omissions.