asked Her Majesty's Government:

How much revenue they estimate was lost to illegal handling of fuel in Northern Ireland in 2007. [HL3444]

Estimates of the revenue lost through the illegal consumption of diesel and petrol in Northern Ireland are not available because it is not yet possible to split revenue losses between those resulting from the illicit market and those from legitimate cross-border shopping. However, latest estimates of the total non-UK duty paid consumption are available to 2005-06, and are reported in Measuring Indirect Tax Losses—2007 which is published alongside the PBR and can be found in the House of Lords Library.