Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Kramer on 16 March (HL5635), whether their support for Eurostar's plans for new services means that the concerns of the Border Agency have been resolved without requiring passengers to change trains en route.

The UK Border Agency was abolished in March 2013. The Government is supportive of Eurostar’s plans for new services between Southern France and London commencing in May 2015 and between Amsterdam and London from December 2016.

The operating model for these new Eurostar services makes provision for a stop at Lille or Brussels to allow for physical security, Schengen exit and UK entry checks to be completed. This was a commercial decision made by Eurostar which is satisfactory in terms of UK border control requirements.