Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost was for the involvement of the Royal Navy in tackling small boats crossing the English Channel in the last two years.

Defence assumed primacy for managing small boat migration in April 2022. The cost of Defence activity relating to Channel crossings in Financial Year 2022-23 will not be known until the accounts have closed in the summer of 2023. Prior to this, supporting activity was undertaken by the Navy through ad hoc, infrequent military assistance tasks.

Operation ISOTROPE is being fulfilled by naval assets drawn from the Coastal Forces Squadron and, as such, the additional costs to the Department for their tasking on ISOTROPE as opposed to other taskings in Home Waters is estimated to be relatively modest.