Introduction
In 2014–15, some 118 million people travelled to the UK, by land, sea and air. Since 2012 the Department’s Border Force directorate has been responsible for operating border controls, although responsibility for border functions has previously rested with the former UK Border Agency and the Department. In the early 2000s the UK authorities received virtually no data on people travelling to the UK before they arrived at the border. The Department recognised that collecting passenger information in advance of travel would help them identify persons of interest and prevent travel where deemed necessary. Since 2003, the Department has run several programmes to collect and analyse this data. In 2007, the Department entered a contract with Raytheon to deliver an “e-Borders” solution but the Department cancelled this contract in 2010. Successor programmes, including the Border Systems Programme and Digital Services at the Border, took over where Raytheon left off. By March 2015 the Department has spent at least £830 million on all these programmes.
© Parliamentary copyright 2015
Prepared 1 March 2016