Crime and Policing Act 2026 - POCA Part 2: early resolution of confiscation meeting
The Crime and Policing Act 2026 introduces an entirely new stage to confiscation proceedings under Part 2 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA).
For more than twenty years, prosecutors and defence representatives have often sought to resolve confiscation issues before the final hearing through informal negotiations. Whilst that approach has become commonplace in many cases, it has never formed part of the statutory confiscation process.
Schedule 21 changes that by introducing a formal Early Resolution of Confiscation (EROC) Meeting and, where necessary, an Early Resolution of Confiscation Hearing. These new provisions are intended to encourage earlier agreement on issues such as criminal benefit, the recoverable amount and the available amount, enabling agreed confiscation orders to be made more quickly whilst narrowing the issues requiring judicial determination.
The reforms sit alongside the new mandatory timetabling provisions introduced elsewhere in the Crime and Policing Act 2026 and represent a shift towards earlier case preparation, greater judicial case management and more efficient confiscation proceedings.
What are Early Resolution of Confiscation Meetings?
Paragraph 15 of Schedule 21 inserts two entirely new provisions into POCA:
Section 15B – Early Resolution Meeting
Section 15C – Early Resolution Hearing
Together, these provisions establish a formal process for attempting to resolve confiscation proceedings before the final confiscation hearing.
Unlike previous practice, where negotiations took place informally between the parties, the new legislation gives the Crown Court express powers to direct that an Early Resolution of Confiscation Meeting should take place.
When will an EROC Meeting take place?
The court may direct an EROC Meeting whenever confiscation proceedings begin if it considers such a meeting appropriate.
The direction may be made:
on the court's own initiative; or
following an application by the prosecutor.
Importantly, the court will fix the date for both the EROC Meeting and, where appropriate, an EROC Hearing during the sentencing hearing when it sets the wider confiscation timetable under the new case management provisions introduced by section 15A.
This means practitioners will know from the outset when negotiations are expected to take place.
What happens before the meeting?
The Early Resolution of Confiscation Meeting is not intended to replace the normal exchange of information required by POCA.
Before the meeting takes place, the parties should still have exchanged:
Section 18 information requests;
Section 16 prosecution statements; and
Section 17 defence responses.
The EROC Meeting therefore takes place after the financial evidence has been exchanged but before the substantive confiscation hearing.
This is significant because it gives both parties an opportunity to evaluate the evidence before incurring the time and expense of contested proceedings.
What is discussed during an EROC Meeting?
The purpose of the meeting is straightforward.
The prosecutor and defendant will discuss the financial issues that determine the terms of the confiscation order.
These include:
the criminal benefit;
the recoverable amount;
the available amount; and
the amount that should ultimately be paid under the confiscation order.
Because liability has already been determined through the criminal proceedings, the focus is entirely upon resolving the financial consequences of the conviction.
What happens if agreement is reached?
Where the parties reach agreement, the prosecutor communicates the agreed terms to the court.
The court may then:
make the confiscation order without requiring a hearing; or
hold a more limited confiscation hearing if other matters remain to be determined, such as victim compensation or other consequential issues.
This creates the possibility that agreed confiscation orders can be dealt with far more quickly than under the traditional model.
What happens if agreement cannot be reached?
If negotiations fail, the legislation provides for an Early Resolution of Confiscation Hearing.
Rather than simply proceeding to a full confiscation hearing, the parties should first identify exactly which issues remain in dispute.
The prosecutor then informs the court of the disputed issues before the hearing.
The hearing allows the court to consider how the proceedings should proceed and ensures that any future confiscation hearing focuses only on matters that genuinely require judicial determination.
Even where agreement has been reached, an EROC Hearing may still be necessary if the court decides not to make an order in the agreed terms.
Why has this procedure been introduced?
According to the Home Office guidance, the new provisions are intended to formalise what has already become common practice in many confiscation cases.
By placing early negotiations onto a statutory footing, the legislation aims to:
fast-track agreed confiscation orders;
narrow the issues requiring determination by the court;
reduce unnecessary contested hearings;
save valuable court time; and
reduce lengthy enforcement proceedings.
Although many experienced practitioners have been adopting this approach for years, the Crime and Policing Act 2026 now makes early engagement an integral part of the confiscation process.
Practical implications
Although these provisions are procedural, they are likely to change the way confiscation cases are prepared.
Previously, detailed negotiations often took place relatively late in the proceedings, sometimes only shortly before the confiscation hearing itself.
Under the new regime, practitioners will need to ensure that cases are substantially prepared before the EROC Meeting.
For prosecutors, this means ensuring that Section 16 statements are supported by sufficient evidence and that benefit calculations have been properly considered.
For defence teams, it places greater emphasis on obtaining instructions, reviewing financial disclosure, analysing bank records and identifying disputed issues much earlier in the timetable.
The growing importance of forensic accountancy evidence
These reforms are also likely to increase the value of forensic accountancy evidence.
An Early Resolution of Confiscation Meeting can only achieve its objective if both parties have confidence in the financial analysis underpinning their respective positions.
Independent forensic accountants can assist by:
analysing complex banking evidence;
identifying errors or double counting within Section 16 statements;
reviewing benefit calculations;
assessing available amount issues;
identifying legitimate sources of funds;
testing hidden asset assumptions; and
narrowing the issues that genuinely require judicial determination.
Where robust financial analysis is available at an early stage, many disputes may be resolved before reaching a contested confiscation hearing.
Relationship with the new timetabling provisions
The introduction of Early Resolution of Confiscation Meetings should not be viewed in isolation.
They form part of a wider package of procedural reforms introduced by the Crime and Policing Act 2026.
The new mandatory confiscation timetable requires the court to establish deadlines for exchanging information, fixing hearings and, where appropriate, scheduling Early Resolution Meetings at the point of sentence.
These reforms are intended to make confiscation proceedings more structured, more predictable and more efficient than under the previous postponement regime.
Final thoughts
The Crime and Policing Act 2026 introduces an entirely new statutory procedure for attempting to resolve confiscation proceedings before the final confiscation hearing.
Whilst experienced practitioners have long sought to negotiate confiscation issues wherever possible, the new legislation now embeds that process within POCA itself.
If used effectively, Early Resolution of Confiscation Meetings should:
encourage earlier engagement between the parties;
promote realistic negotiation based on the available evidence;
narrow the issues requiring judicial determination;
reduce contested confiscation hearings; and
improve the efficiency of confiscation proceedings.
For prosecutors, defence practitioners and forensic accountants alike, success under the new regime will depend on thorough preparation and careful financial analysis long before the final hearing.
