The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, my hon. Friend the Member for Leigh (Andy Burnham) and I are today meeting with the banking industry to discuss the application of the Government's identity fraud strategy.The Home Office is today making a statement about the national strategy for tackling ID fraud. Within this strategy, the Treasury and the FSA are working with the financial services industry to ensure it has in place the most effective systems to fight financial crime. New industry guidance to be published shortly will strengthen the system of ID checks whilst reducing the inconvenience for the consumer.HMRC will carry out an assessment of the typical profile of frauds committed against it, to assist the banks in identifying suspect payments and accounts, enabling them to make timely suspicious activity reports to the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS). HMRC will contact any firms that have been party to these frauds.The Chancellor and the Home Secretary recently asked Sir Stephen Lander, chair-designate of the forthcoming new Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), to undertake a review of the suspicious activity reporting regime. Sir Stephen is to report by the end of March 2006.

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