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HM Revenue and Customs

My Lords, I, too, was involved in the HMRC Bill, during whose passage confidentiality issues were dealt with. First, regardless of whether Customs and the Inland Revenue had merged, if procedures had not been followed this breach could have happened under the old Inland Revenue. Secondly, can the Minister confirm that while there is a target of 25,000 cuts, in fact only 12,500 cuts have been delivered? If so, and if there is a problem with staffing, will he undertake to ensure that proper staffing is in place before the Government proceed with the further 12,500 cuts to meet the target? Thirdly, did loss of the disk on 18 October arise because of the internal postal service of the merged Revenue and Customs or is there an outsourced service that acts on behalf of the new department? Fourthly, has it been established if any other items went astray on the same day?