Member

Amendments 418 and 419 seek to enable courts to redirect proceeds from confiscation orders to social purposes, as I have just mentioned, by issuing a direction for public interest or social purposes, and to award public interest compensation orders either instead of or in addition to forfeiture orders. I understand the intentions of the amendments but the Proceeds of Crime Act already prioritises directing funds to victims. It allows the court to direct that the proceeds from confiscation orders be applied towards payment of a compensation order. In the financial year ending March 2025, some £47.2 million in compensation was paid to victims from proceeds of crime recovered through confiscation order receipts.