Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of cross-border cooperation in stopping (1) criminal gangs, and (2) people smugglers, entering the UK from the Republic of Ireland.

There is a high level of cooperation on border security between both the UK and Irish Governments to ensure we are taking all the necessary measures to protect and secure the Common Travel Area, this includes people travelling from Ireland to the UK.

The Home Office, Ireland’s Garda National Immigration Bureau and Border Management Unit, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and other police forces work together to tackle abuse of the CTA by conducting intelligence-led checks and enforcement operations.

We continue to take a whole route approach in pursuing the crime groups who facilitate people smuggling to the UK and who exploit vulnerable migrants, knowingly putting people in life-threatening situations.