§ Nick HarveyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average number of stop checks made, per day, by Her Majesty's Customs officers, to search for illegal imports at(a) Heathrow, (b) Gatwick, (c) Stansted and (d) Luton airports was in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement. [51772]
§ Mr. BoatengIt is not Custom's Law Enforcement policy to disclose information on levels of Customs checks at specific locations.
§ Nick HarveyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many kilograms of illegal meat products have been found as a result of stop checks by Her Majesty's Customs officers at(a) Heathrow, (b) Gatwick, (c) Stansted and (d) Luton airports in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement. [51773]
§ Mr. BoatengCentral records of Customs seizures of meat and meat products are available only from 2000. Records for calendar years 2000 and 2001 are as follows:
334W
Kgs 2000 2001 1 Heathrow 1,590 5,462 Gatwick 347 2,070 Stansted 2 67
Kgs 2000 2001 1 Luton 0 101 1 In 2001 in addition to the weights shown there were also a total of 60 seizures (Heathrow 49, Gatwick 17, Stansted two, Luton one) where the quantity was not recorded by weight.
§ Nick HarveyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is done with illegal meat products once they have been confiscated by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise officers; and if he will make a statement. [51770]
§ Mr. BoatengMeat and meat products seized by Customs are disposed of through arrangements made by the local or port health authority.
§ Nick HarveyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average number of Her Majesty's Customs and Excise officers working, per day, at(a) Heathrow, (b) Gatwick, (c) Stansted and (d) Luton airports was in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement. [51769]
§ Mr. BoatengIt is not Customs Law Enforcement policy to disclose information on operational deployments of staff at specific locations.
§ Nick HarveyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to place amnesty bins at airport departure and arrivals halls to give passengers an opportunity to dump illegal meat products prior to going through the Customs check point; and if he will make a statement. [51774]
§ Mr. BoatengThe question of amnesty bins at airport departure and arrival halls raises issues of security, health and safety. My officials are working with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), who lead the overall programme on illegal meat imports, on measures to deal with illicit meat inadvertently imported by passengers.