§ Mr. Freesonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many customs officers have been employed in each of the last five years; and if he will give the figures for Heathrow separately.
§ Mr. LawsonThe numbers of staff in Her Majesty's Customs and Excise deployed on customs work in ports, airports and inland premises at 31 March in each of the last five years were as follows:
Numbers 1979 7,591 1980 7,231 1981 7,088 1982 6,861 1983 6,717 The corresponding figures for Heathrow and Gatwick were as follows:
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Numbers 1979 1,037 1980 975 1981 1,024 1982 1,022 1983 988 I am afraid that separate figures for Heathrow cannot be obtained without disproportionate effort.
§ Mr. Freesonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of passengers are on average questioned by Customs officers (a) generally and (b) at Heathrow; and how this compares with the figures for each of the last five years.
§ Mr. LawsonNo records of this nature are compiled on any regular basis, and this information is not therefore available.
§ Mr. Freesonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the income from the Customs for each of the last five years; and how much has been spent on the Customs service in these years at constant prices.
§ Mr. LawsonI assume the right hon. Member refers to the revenue from customs duties and agricultural levies and the costs related to the administration of customs work, exclusive of excise and VAT. The information for the last five financial years is as follows:
Net receipts from customs duties and agricultural levies Estimated cost of administering customs duties and agricultural levies at 1982–83 prices* £ million £ million 1978–79 966 135 1979–80 1,179 129 1980–81 1,037 133 1981–82 1,197 136 1982–83 1,228 133 * Includes the costs arising from fraud and preventive work, the preparation of trade statistics and the provision of certain non-revenue services.