Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to return the waiting time for passport controls at London's airports to the official target.

Border Force is committed to providing an excellent service and over 95% of all passengers seeking entry at Heathrow in 2018 have been dealt with within the service level agreements. But this must be balanced with Border Force’s responsibility to secure the border. It is worth noting that the 95% figure in the answer is in absolute passenger number terms rather than number of wait time measurements.

Border Force is taking a number of steps to ensure passengers are dealt with quickly, including through investment in technology and maximising available staff at the busiest times of the day.