§ Mr. Eggarasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the number of staff deployed by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise to combat the black economy and evasion of value added tax; and whether he intends to allocate any additional staff to Her Majesty's Customs and Excise for this purpose.
§ Mr. HayhoeHer Majesty's Customs and Excise has in the region of 4,000 officers engaged on VAT control duties, visiting both registered and unregistered businesses. In the year 1985–86 it is planned to provide, from savings elsewhere within the Department, an additional 146 officers for this work.