Taxation: Arrests

Mr. Francois
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions in 2005-06 HM Revenue and Customs requested that the police use their power of arrest as a result of a tax inquiry.

John Healey
HMRC does not hold a record of the number of requests made to the police to make arrests in 2005-06. However, on the basis of the information held, the Department estimates that around 150 arrests were made by police on its behalf during this year.