§ Mrs. LawrenceTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many times in the past two years the Customs and Excise National Strike Force has undertaken operational duties in west Wales; [118546]
(2) what seizures have been made by the Customs and Excise National Strike Force in west Wales in the last two years. [118532]
§ John HealeyPursuant to his answers of 12 June 2003,Official Report, columns 980–81W, the National Strike Force was in fact deployed to Wales 10 times in the last two years, rather than the total of 16 times since it was established in January 2000, and these deployments included west Wales on four occasions.
Deployments of the National Strike Force are rarely to any single location, and it is not possible to identify from older operational records the specific locations where seizures were made by the National Strike Force. Figures for seizures in west Wales alone are therefore 459W not available; however, in the last two years in south Wales (including west Wales but excluding Cardiff airport) the National Strike Force seized 180,000 cigarettes but no criminal cash.
§ Lembit ÖpikTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions his Department has had with the(a) Home Office, (b) Secretary of State for Wales and (c) Welsh Assembly regarding removal of permanent front-line anti-smuggling customs officers from (i) Chester, (ii) Swansea and (iii) Pembroke ports; and if he will make a statement. [126320]
§ John HealeyFollowing the announcement of Customs and Excise's modernisation plans in March, I informed the Home Secretary and wrote to the First Minister of the National Assembly for Wales; Customs wrote to Dyfed-Powys police force and to South Wales police force. Customs officials have also discussed their plans with the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales.