The Committee have made taxation a key area of focus during this Parliament and have published 20 reports on taxation and made over 100 recommendations to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and HM Treasury aimed at improving HMRC's performance and strengthening confidence in the tax system. The Committee believe they have influenced the debate about multinational companies paying the appropriate amount of tax due, based on their transactions conducted within the UK; exposed serious problems with how the tax planning industry pushes aggressive tax avoidance schemes to businesses and wealthy individuals; helped to reform how HMRC tackles marketed tax avoidance schemes and settles tax disputes with large corporates; and challenged HMRC to provide a better and more even-handed service to customers. The Committee welcome the action that HMRC has taken in response to the recommendations and the progress that has been made. But much remains to be done; for example, HMRC must urgently transform its currently unacceptable levels of customer service. The Committee further welcomes the lead the UK Government has taken in this area on the international stage and call on the next government to continue this work and undertake to tackle both the industry and culture that surrounds and supports tax evasion and aggressive avoidance.

The Winterbourne View scandal in 2011 exposed the horrific abuse of people with learning difficulties and challenging behaviour in a private mental health hospital. Concerns were also raised about a number of other institutions. As a result, the Government committed to discharging those individuals for whom it was appropriate back into their homes and communities. However, since then, too many children and adults have continued to go into mental health hospitals, and to stay there unnecessarily, because of the lack of community alternatives. The number of people with learning disabilities remaining in hospital has not fallen, and has remained broadly the same at around 3,200. It was refreshing that NHS England took responsibility for this lack of progress and has now committed to develop a closure programme for large NHS mental health hospitals, along with a transition plan for the people with learning disabilities within these hospitals, from 2016-17. Discharges from hospital are being delayed because funding does not follow the individual when they are discharged into the community. This acts as a financial disincentive for local commissioners who have to bear the costs and responsibility for planning and commissioning community services. Delaying discharge has the effect of institutionalising people, making their reintegration into the community more difficult. Some local authorities' reluctance to accept and fund individuals in the community will be exacerbated by current financial constraints. The Department should set out its proposals for 'dowry-type' payments from NHS England to meet the costs of supporting people discharged from hospital.

This report summarises the key areas of the Committee's work over the past five years. It draws out the areas where progress has been made and where their successors might wish to press in future. The Committee has assiduously followed the taxpayer's pound wherever it was spent. Since 2010 they held 276 evidence sessions and published 244 unanimous reports to hold government to account for its performance. 88% of their recommendations were accepted by departments. In many cases they successfully secured substantial changes, for example with the once secret tax avoidance industry. They secured consensus from government and from industry that private providers of public services do have a duty of care to the taxpayer, and in pushing the protection of whistleblowers further up the agenda of all government departments. By drawing attention to mistakes in the Department for Transport's procurement of the West Coast Mainline, more recent procurements for Crossrail, Thameslink and Intercity Express have all benefited from more expert advice and a more appropriate level of challenge from senior staff. After discovery in 2012-13 that 63% of calls to government call centres were to higher rate telephone numbers, the Government accepted our recommendation that telephone lines serving vulnerable and low income groups never be charged above the geographic rate and that 03 numbers should be available for all government telephone lines. They also secured a commitment to close large mental health hospitals.

This book provides a critical and contemporary evaluation of the laws and enforcement policies pertaining to tax evasion in the United Kingdom (UK) and United States (US). Since the inception of taxes, revenue collection authorities around the world have attempted to address the seemingly perennial problem of individuals evading their tax liabilities. The financial crisis has shone a new light on the issue with an increased interest in using the criminal justice system as a means of addressing it in the UK. In sharp contrast to the UK, the US has a strong record of prosecuting crimes of tax evasion, whether committed by individuals or professional corporate facilitators. Providing an evaluation of the UK’s tax evasion laws and enforcement policy, through a comparative approach, this work highlights insights provided by the US experience. In so doing, the book explores the interconnections between tax evasion and money laundering, identifying best practices, omissions, and areas for reform. The work will be a valuable resource for researchers, academics, and policy-makers working in the areas of financial crime, financial law, accountancy and criminal justice.

If you could change one part of the criminal law, what would it be? Following the success of the 1st volume, the same question is put to a new selection of leading academics and practitioners. The first eight chapters of the collection present their responses in the form of legal reform proposals, with topics ranging across criminal law, criminal justice and evidence – including corporate liability, consent to bodily harms, prostitution, domestic abuse, economic crimes, defendant anonymity, appeal court structures and the procedures of the Criminal Cases Review Commission. Each chapter is followed by a comment from a different author, providing an additional expert view on each proposal. Finally, the last two chapters broaden the debate to discuss criminal law reform in general, from the challenges of decriminalisation to exploring the systemic dynamics of centralisation, austerity and politicisation. The collection highlights and explores the current reform debates that matter most to legal experts, with each chapter making a positive case for change.

A fresh perspective on an ancient institution; Exploring Parliament offers an engaging and real-life insight into the inner workings, impact, and relevance of twenty-first century Parliament. Short academic and practitioner chapters are combined with highly relevant and practical case studies, to provide a new and accessible introduction to Parliament's structures, people, and practices. As well as covering the broader structure of UK Parliament, this text explains the role of small parties in law making, the design and space of Parliament, and offers illuminating case studies on highly topical areas such as the Backbench Business Committee, the Hillsborough Inquiry and recent pieces of legislation such as the Assisted Dying Bill. This text is complemented by the following online resources for students and lecturers: - Video tours of Parliament - Podcasts to explain and explore the work of Parliament - Web links to help students to explore Parliament even further

The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published daily when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record began publication in 1873. Debates for sessions prior to 1873 are recorded in The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States (1789-1824), the Register of Debates in Congress (1824-1837), and the Congressional Globe (1833-1873)

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