Mr Thomas: To ask the Attorney-General how many prosecutions were launched by the Serious Fraud Office in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

The Solicitor-General (Oliver Heald): The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) both investigates and prosecutes cases of serious and complex fraud, bribery and corruption. Its cases can take several years to complete.

The following table shows how many cases were opened for formal investigation, the number of cases in which charges were brought (regardless of the number of individuals charged), and the number of trials started by the SFO in each of the last two years.

                                                                   2010-11              2011-12

Cases Accepted                                           12                      9

Cases in which charges were brought              10                     6

Trials stated                                                   7                      9

It should be noted that the number of cases does not necessarily reflect the total number of individuals or issues under investigation.