§ Mr. AndersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what evaluations he has made of the recent campaign against vehicle excise tax evasion in south Wales.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyThe campaign covered the whole of Wales. A total of 1,568 cases of evasion of vehicle excise duty are being investigated and 1,177 have so far been referred for prosecution.
The cost-effectiveness of this campaign cannot be calculated until the full results are available. In previous campaigns income from fines, back duty and costs, plus the extra licences bought as a result of campaign publicity has, on average, been over 20 times greater than the Department's costs. I will write to the hon. Member early in the new year with further details for the south Wales area.