Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to ensure effective border control and management of illegal immigration.

This government is implementing a serious, practical plan for reform; the Home Secretary has taken immediate steps to strengthen our approach by launching a new Border Security Command (BSC). Capabilities from across the Home Office have come together to build the foundational operating model of BSC with over 90 staff currently in post. Wider recruitment is ongoing as part of the broader organisational design.

The BSC will provide strategic direction across several agencies and partners, drawing together the work of the National Crime Agency (NCA), intelligence agencies, police, Immigration Enforcement and Border Force.

It will also work with international partners to disrupt the activity of criminal smuggling gangs and ensure those profiting from people-smuggling are brought to justice.

As set out in the King’s speech, this government will introduce new legislative measures to restore order to our border.

The proposed new legislation will include provisions to give the border security system stronger powers to disrupt, investigate and prosecute facilitators of organised immigration crime.

Furthermore, in August the Home Secretary announced new measures to provide long term security to our border which included: the deployment of 100 specialist staff to the National Crime Agency (NCA) to disrupt and smash criminal smuggling gangs, a surge in enforcement and return flights, and increased detention capacity including 290 added beds at Campsfield and Haslar Immigration Removal Centres.