Lord Taylor of Holbeach
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UK Borders: Surveillance
Lord Taylor of Holbeach Excerpts(6 years, 4 months ago)
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Lord Taylor of Holbeach (Con)
It is the Lib Dems’ turn, and then we will hear from the Conservatives.
Lord Paddick
My Lords, in April last year the then Home Secretary, Theresa May, confirmed in the other place that in 2016-17 the Border Force agency’s revenue budget, which covers staffing, would be 0.4% less compared with 2015-16. However, the Government insist that Border Force spending has been protected because spending on technology such as electronic passport gates has increased. Can the Minister explain what happens at many of the ports of entry where there are no electronic passport gates in the light of the reduction in Border Force staff? Can she also confirm that most of the time, even where there are electronic passport gates, there are not enough staff to keep them open?