HC Deb 26 January 1993 vol 217 cc616-7W
Mr. Wigley

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many people have been employed by(a) the Inland Revenue and (b) Customs and Excise specifically to tackle tax evasion in each of the last five years;

(2) how much money has been allocated by his Department to (a) the Inland Revenue and (b) Customs and Excise to tackle tax evasion in each of the last five years.

Mr. Dorrell

In Customs and Excise officials with responsibility for tackling tax evasion may have other duties. This is true, to a lesser degree, of the Inland Revenue, where most counter-evasion work is carried out by inspectors of taxes. On this basis, the approximate numbers of staff units/year engaged in such work, and the related costs to their respective Departments, were as follows:

Staff Units Cost £ million
IR C&E IR C&E
1987–88 2,800 7,000 70 111
1988–89 3,100 7,100 79 125
1989–90 3,200 7,300 89 139
1990–91 3,300 7,300 102 152
1991–92 3,600 7,200 115 166