To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many HM Customs and Excise personnel are (a) employed to provide advice and assistance to the Afghan Transitional Administration and (b) employed to gather intelligence and assist in the interdiction of heroin along transit routes from Afghanistan to the UK. [116420]

HM Customs and Excise currently employs five staff who work exclusively on providing advice and assistance to the Afghan Transitional Administration, and a further 14 for whom this work forms part of their duties.It would not be appropriate to disclose how many personnel are deployed gathering intelligence and assisting in the interdiction of heroin along transit routes from Afghanistan and the UK. Exemptions 4 (Law enforcement and legal proceedings) and 7 (Effective management and operations of the public service) apply.