To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will state the level of resources allocated in 1992–93 for wildlife trade control by officers of Her Majesty's Customs and Excise.

Customs involvement in wildlife controls extends over a wide area, embracing both health and conservation aspects. It also covers a diverse range of activities, from checks on the validity of import and export licences to investigation, as the need arises, of suspected fraud. All those activities take place within the broad framework of Customs enforcement generally, with no individual officers specialising in wildlife controls. It is therefore impracticable to identify separately those resources which are, or will be, allocated specifically to those controls.