§ Mr. Ieuan Wyn JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many front-line customs staff have been employed on anti-drug smuggling duties in the United Kingdom and its waters during each of the last five years.
§ Sir John CopeI have been asked to reply.
Front-line resources devoted specifically to passenger and transport control by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise over the past five years are set out in table 1. This is not restricted to drugs enforcement because Customs' frontier controls encompass a number of prohibitions and restrictions. Other staff also contribute to the anti-smuggling effort, including specialist investigators, staff employed on freight and documentary processing and essential support services such as training and prosecutions. Table 2 shows a broad estimate of the total resource devoted to the anti-drugs effort, including such staff.
Table 1 Her Majesty's Customs and Excise Front-line resources devoted to passenger and transport control Staff years 1988–89 3,600 1989–90 3,637 1990–91 3,630 1991–92 3,558 1992–93 3,420
Table 2 Her Majesty's Customs and Excise Resources devoted to anti-drugs effort Staff years 1988–89 4,700 1989–90 4,950 1990–91 4,850 1991–92 4,800 1992–93 5,000 Note: Resources are counted in staff years rather than staff numbers, to take account of such factors as part-time working and overtime.