Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has been made on the proposed increase of eight per cent in Border Force operational staff before 29 March 2018.

Border Force will always ensure it has the necessary resources to keep the border secure and will respond flexibly to emerging requirements through ongoing assessments of operational needs.

Border Force has recruited a Readiness Task Force to provide operational resilience to the frontline and allow existing staff to undertake EU exit re-lated training. The c.300 multi-disciplinary Border Force officers will be fully deployed by the end of the year.

An additional c.600 Border Force officers are being recruited in 2018/19 to respond to the new requirements it will face as a result of EU Exit and to provide resilience at key locations.