Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent estimate he has made of the length of time it takes a baggage handler to complete counter terrorism checks.

The Cabinet Office acknowledges the pressures that the aviation sector is under and has been working with the industry to offer support and speed up the security processes for prospective airport staff. UK Security Vetting (UKSV) has prioritised applications from the aviation sector since April of this year.

UKSV can only provide overall statistics for the aviation industry and are unable to separate out statistics for baggage handlers. On average, Accreditation Checks are being completed in five days or less. Counter Terrorist Checks (CTC) in the Aviation sector are being processed in under ten days on average.

In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters.