§ Mr. Gordon BrownTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the number of prosecutions for cases of tax fraud detected in 1979 and 1986–87 for which the amount recovered was(a) under £999, (b) £1,000 to £4,999, (c) £5,000 to £9,999, (d) £10,000 to £24,999, (e) £25,000 to £49,999, (f) £50,000 to £99,999, (g) £100,000 to £499,999, (h) £500,000 to £990,999, (i) £1,000,000 to £1,499,999, (j) £1,500,000 to £1,999,999 and (k) over £2,000,000.
§ Mr. Norman Lamont[holding answer 9 February 1988]: No records are kept of the total amounts recovered in cases of prosecution for tax fraud. However, the numbers of prosecutions categorised by the amounts of tax due from fraud provable to criminal standards, were:
1979 1986–87 Under £999 42 7 £1,000–£4,999 46 20 £5,000–£9,999 11 33 £10,000–£24,999 14 66 £25,000–£49,999 7 50 £50,000–£99,999 1 25 £100,000–£499,999 3 18 £500,000–£999,999 — — £1,000,000–£ 1,499,999 — — £1,500,000–£1,999,999 — 4 over £2,000,000 — — These figures do not include police prosecutions, for which details of the tax involved are not held by the Inland Revenue.
§ Mr. Gordon BrownTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the total amount of money recovered from those cases of tax fraud in 1986–87 which each individually involved more than £1 million.
§ Mr. Norman Lamont[holding answer 9 February 1988]: The total amount recovered including, where appropriate, interest and penalties was £7,888,255.14.
§ Mr. Gordon BrownTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the number of cases of tax fraud detected in 1979 and 1986–87 for which the amount recovered was(a) under £999, (b) £1,000 to £4,999, (c) £5,000 to £9,999, (d) £10,000 to £24,999, (e) £25,000 to £49,999, (f) £50,000 to £99,999 (g) £100,000 to £499,999, (h) £500,000 to £990,999, (i) £1,000,000 to £1,499,999, (j) £1,500,000, to £1,999,999 and (k) over £2,000,000.
§ Mr. Norman Lamont[holding answer 9 February 1988]: The Inland Revenue do not keep records of the number of investigations opened in any particular year, and the total number of investigations settled within each of the categories stipulated could not be provided except at undue cost.