§ Mr. Peter DuncanTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what additional resources are being provided to HM Customs and Excise in Scotland prior to the commencement of ferry services to the continent from Rosyth; and if he will make a statement. [52584]
§ Mr. BoatengHM Customs and Excise are funded, according to risk assessment, to provide Customs controls at all UK entry points, including Rosyth. In addition to £2 million funding for a mobile scanner that will be regularly used at Rosyth, £245,000 has been allocated for the provision of the latest technical equipment to be used in the detection of drugs and other contraband. Customs staff will be deployed regularly at Rosyth on a risk basis, both from flexible multi-functional teams currently located in Scotland and, as required, from UK national strike force teams.
§ Mr. Peter DuncanTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Customs and Excise staff were employed in Scotland in each of the last five years; and what the staff complement is. [52909]
§ Mr. BoatengHM Customs and Excise does not have a "staff complement" for Scotland, as they deploy their resources across the United Kingdom according to risk.
The numbers of staff employed as are follows:
Year Headcount FTE 2002 1,215 1,184.7 2001 1,294 1,258.6 2000 1,324 1,289.5 1999 1,413 1,376.2 1998 1,488 1,449.2 Note:
Numbers of staff in Scotland are given both in headcount and full-time equivalent, and are based on data for the 1 April in each year. They include all staff working in Scotland. The full-time equivalent figures for 1998 and 1999 are not available and have therefore been estimated.