HC Deb 21 November 1991 vol 199 cc272-3W
Mr. Sheerman

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what is the level of Customs and Excise personnel at Cardiff international airport;

(2) how many full-time customs officers were deployed at Cardiff international airport in each year since 1985; and how many are deployed now;

(3) what level of centrally funded resources is deployed at Cardiff international airport to deter and detect drug smuggling; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs. Gillian Shephard

Resources are centrally funded to individual executive units, but the allocation of those resources is a matter for the head of the executive unit. In the allocation process full account is taken of the varying degrees of risk that occur in the ports and airports within the boundaries of the executive unit.

Since 1985 the following numbers of full-time customs officers have been deployed at Cardiff international airport:

Number
1985 16
1986–87 16
1988 17
1989–90 17

The numbers include staff employed on both anti-smuggling and fiscal work. They also reflect additional staff years to cover peak seasonal periods as well as the perceived need, at that time, to staff on a continuous basis rather than effort being targeted according to risk.

Following the national review of anti-smuggling controls which has taken place within the Customs and Excise Department, improvements are being made which involve a shift away from predictable static controls to a more mobile, flexible effort directed at areas of greatest risk as perceived at any given time. These risks are assessed within the executive unit on a wider base than Cardiff international airport alone.

As part of the process of greater flexibility, customs staff for the locality are now concentrated in premises at Barry docks and cover Cardiff and Barry docks as well as the airport. There is a total of 20 full-time anti-smuggling staff available and these can be supplemented by additional resources from elsewhere in the executive unit as the need arises. In addition 16 full-time staff are employed on customs fiscal work in the locality.