UK Border Force: Staff

Home Office written question – answered at on 15 September 2016.

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Photo of David Mackintosh David Mackintosh Conservative, Northampton South

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that Border Force has adequate staffing levels at major ports and airports to ensure (a) high levels of security and (b) efficient processing of visitors into the UK.

Photo of Robert Goodwill Robert Goodwill The Minister for Immigration

The United Kingdom’s border controls are among the most stringent in the world. Border Force employs a rigorous and effective control regime at the UK’s borders, predicated on a policy of carrying out full checks of all arriving passengers and an intelligence-led approach to searching for contraband goods that ensures resources are used as effectively as possible. We have pursued an ambitious programme of reform at the border to keep this country safe, with Border Force transforming its working practices, command and control and leadership. Many regions have flexible mobile teams who stand ready to respond and support local ports in the event of such pressures. Currently, Border Force’s performance for clearing passengers exceeds the national service level agreement for wait times for both EEA and non-EEA passengers.

We have also invested in new technology UK to enhance security and improve the service delivered to legitimate passengers and deliver efficiencies. 176 ePassport Gates are operational at 18 UK airport terminals with the opening of the ePassport Gates in Heathrow T3 on 21 July. A total of 27.2 million passengers used the ePassport gates in the past year (to end of July 2016), which represents 50% of eligible passengers. This is up from 18.7 million for the same period ending July 2015.

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