§ Mrs. LaitTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the scale of value of diamond smuggling into the United Kingdom; and how many Customs and Excise staff are involved in its prevention; and what are the corresponding estimated figures for tobacco, alcohol and drugs. [19529]
§ Mr. Heathcoat-AmoryInformation on the value of diamonds seized is not immediately available and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
Information on the value of drugs prevented from entering the United Kingdom and the number of seizures made is contained in the Customs and Excise annual
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Debt written off and debt injected prior to privatisation Industry Debt written off Year £ million Debt injected Type of debt Year £ million British Steel 1980–81 509.3 National Loans Fund — — British Aerospace 1980–81 60.0 Public Dividend Capital — — National Freight Corporation1 1980–81 100.0 National Loans Fund — — British Airways 1980–81 160.0 Public Dividend Capital — — report. Information for 1993–94 is that drugs to the value of £1,979 million were prevented from entering. A total of 8,510 seizures were made.
For single market excise-related offences the number and value of seizures of tobacco and alcohol products for the year to December 1994 are as follows:
Number of seizures Value (revenue) £ Tobacco 1,850 3,195,353 Alcohol 898 1,832,879 Customs staff employed at ports and airports are responsible for preventing the illegal importation of a wide range of prohibited and restricted goods and for the collection of revenue. They are not assigned to the prevention of smuggling of particular goods.