Member

The same is true in other areas. Private prosecutions are used in intellectual property crime and shoplifting, where cases are not prioritised. In one example, public enforcement spent over £2 million and brought just a handful of charges, while private prosecutions secured over 100 convictions at a lower cost. If we make those prosecutions unviable, we lose that. We heard concerns during earlier stages of the Bill that if cost control measures go wrong, this work would be put at risk. That is not something we want to see, and in that context the Government’s amendment is a step in the right direction. It is right that Ministers consult and publish an impact assessment before exercising such powers, but I press the Minister on how the measures will be taken forward.