§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the value, net of withdrawals and reductions, of the(a) penalties and (b) interest charged by HM Customs and Excise in respect of Insurance Premium Tax in (i) 1999–2000, (ii) 2000–01 and (iii) 2001–02 to date.[12199]
152W
§ Ruth KellyCustoms and Excise charged penalties and interest in respect of Insurance Premium Tax as shown in the table.
£000 Net value charged Interest Penalties 1999– 2000 633 61 2000–01 382 75 2001 to 31 August 265 1— 1 Reliable information is not yet available for this period, and it would take a disproportionate amount of time to quantify. Customs are developing a new system to report these data
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the targets for detection of revenue set for each anti-smuggling team in HM Customs and Excise in(a) 1998–99, (b) 1999–2000, (c) 2000–01 and (d) 2001–02.[12212]
§ Mr. BoatengCustoms does not set revenue detection targets for individual teams.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff are employed, and at what grades, by the National Investigation Service within HM Customs and Excise.[12214]
§ Mr. BoatengThe number of staff currently employed by HM Customs and Excise law enforcement investigation (formerly known as the national investigation service) is shown in the table:
Job band Number of staff 02 53 03 99 04 31 05 100 06 1,015 07 571 08 26 09 109 10 4 11 20 12 4 SCS 4 Grand total 2,036
§ Mr. BaconTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employees of HM Customs and Excise are the subject of criminal investigations by the police; and how many of these relate to frauds on duty.[12638]
§ Mr. BoatengThe number of officers who are currently the subject of criminal investigations by the police is 16. None of these cases relates to frauds on excise or customs duties.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the sum of revenue detected by each anti-smuggling team within HM Customs and Excise in(a) 1998–99, (b) 1999–2000, (c) 2000–01 and (d) 2001–02 to date.[12213]
§ Mr. BoatengInformation about the revenue evasion detected by individual anti-smuggling teams is not available.
153W
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in what ways the powers and responsibilities of HM Customs and Excise have been affected by the Terrorism Act 2000.[12217]
§ Mr. BoatengUnder the Terrorism Act 2000, all Customs officers at ports and airports in Great Britain, but not Northern Ireland, are designated as examining officers. This provides officers with a range of investigative powers to enable the officer to determine whether a person is or has been concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.
In addition, the Act designates all Customs officers in the UK as authorised officers. This provides officers with powers to seize cash at import or export, or moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which is believed to be linked to terrorism. The detention of seized cash beyond 48 hours must be authorised by the courts.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many notifications of businesses no longer trading were received by HM Customs and Excise following the annual reminder mailshots in(a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999, (d) 2000 and (e) 2001.[12202]
§ Mr. BoatengInformation on the number of businesses no longer trading and notified as a result of annual reminders is not readily available. Information about the percentage increase in changes notified due to the annual reminder may be found in the publication "HM Customs and Excise annual report 1998–99, appendix B—Management by Outputs Agreement".
Such data are not readily available for the remaining years in question and would involve disproportionate cost to produce. Details of the total number of deregistrations over the period in question may be found in HM Customs and Excise annual reports for the respective financial years.