Owen Paterson (Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland; North Shropshire, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the implications are of an e-borders system circumscribing Great Britain for travel between mainland Britain and Northern Ireland; and what documents will be required under the proposed e-border system for travel between Britain and Northern Ireland.

Liam Byrne (Minister of State (Borders and Immigration; Minister for the West Midlands), Home Office; Birmingham, Hodge Hill, Labour)

The police service already screens passengers travelling between Northern Ireland and the mainland and there are no plans to introduce passport controls for those travelling on domestic journeys.

Section 14 of the Police and Justice Act 2006 introduced a new power that will allow the police to capture passenger, crew and service information on air and sea journeys within the United Kingdom. The intention is that the power will be brought into force by secondary legislation in 2008. The specific police requirements under this power, which will include details of the routes affected and data required, are still under discussion within Government. Once the proposals have been finalised they will be subject to a 12-week public consultation.

It is expected that this police power will only apply to air and sea routes between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Passengers will not be required to use passports, but may be required to produce one of several types of documentation, including passports, when travelling, to enable the carrier to the meet the requirements of a police request.