Home Affairs Committee

Letter from Sir Charles Montgomery, Director General, Border Force, to the Chair of the Committee, 26 November 2013

Thank you for the opportunity to give evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee on 8 October 2013 and for your subsequent letter.

During the course of my appearance I undertook to write to you on a number of specific issues-I expand on these issues at Annex A I also enclose on Annex B the corrections to the transcript, [1] a copy of which has also been sent to the Committee Clerk.

I hope that this information will be of value to the Committee.

Sir Charles Montgomery KBE
Director General
Border Force

Annex A

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

What is being done by Border Force to increase the civil penalty regime?

As I said at the Committee, the civil penalties we levy on those who negligently permit clandestine immigrants to evade our border controls are, as John Vine reported, currently at the lower end.

A consultation proposal to revise the codes of practice and increase the maximum penalty charge is currently being drafted. Engagement with all UK partners who work across the Haulier sector (DVLA, VOSA, MoJ and Office for the Traffic Commissioner) has already taken place. Wider engagement with European partners (Polish and Lithuanian Missions met, Romanian, Hungarian and Czech to follow) will ensure drivers and owners/operators of all nationalities will be reminded of the current regime and made aware of proposed changes. A targeted public consultation will follow once proposals have been finalised.

The new codes of practice are due to be introduced in April 2014.

What percentage of the travelling public has pre-departure clearance?

All Advance Passenger Information (API) is checked against the pre-departure check watch list. As I explained to the committee, it was at that time 70% of air passengers within the European Union and 78% worldwide. Subsequent to my appearance, and with the addition of one other significant carrier, by the end of November those figures will be 85% of air passenger movements from Europe to the UK and 90% of air passenger movements worldwide to the UK.

What is the timeline for the procurement process for the replacement of Semaphore and Warnings Index?

I agreed to write to you with this timetable. I can confirm that the Border Systems Programme is in the process of carrying out a review which will enable Border Force to agree a timetable. I would be happy to provide an update to the Committee when the timescales are clear.

Was £320 million less than two-thirds of the projected target of the value of goods seized at the Border for 2011–12?

My response to the Committee regarding the total value of the goods seized at the border in the last year refers to the tax revenue protected figure which was £317.5 million in financial year 2012–13, exceeding the target of £313.7 million.

Border Force does not have a target for street value nor is this routinely measured.

What is the level of conviction required for Border Force to refuse entry to the UK?

I agreed to take advice on this issue. Border Force may refuse admission to an EEA national on the grounds of public policy, public security or public health. There is no threshold set out in legislation but any decision taken must be proportionate; the personal conduct of the individual must represent a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat to one of the fundamental interests of society. Previous criminal convictions do not in themselves justify the decision. It all depends on the individual case.

However, we regularly review the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 which transpose the Free Movement Directive (2004/38/EC) into UK law and we will make further amendments to these Regulations, when necessary, in order to prevent abuse.

For foreign nationals who are dealt with under the Immigration Rules, it’s much clearer; paragraph 320 of the Rules sets out limits where we can refuse leave to enter-if an individual has been convicted of an offence for which they have been sentenced to imprisonment for at least four years they are automatically refused entry. If the sentence was between 12 months and four years within the last 10 years entry can also be refused. Entry can also be refused, if the sentence was less than 12 months within the last five years.

26 November 2013

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