PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Borders: Security (20 November 2014)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 19 November 2014 to Question 213850, what estimate she has made of the total number of vehicles entering the UK which were not subject to screening by either body scanning machines or dogs in the last 12 months.

Asked by:
Steve Barclay (Conservative)

We have made no such estimate as the use of screening is conducted on an intelligence led basis as part of Border Force's multi-layered approach.

The screening of vehicles by Border Force is undertaken through a range of methods. These include Passive Millimetric Wave Imagers, carbon dioxide probes, body detection dogs and heart beat detectors. Border Force has investment in
detection technology over the last 18 months, includes a £2 million scanner upgrade, a further £400,000 committed to infra red camera technology, and a £1.3 million investment in specialist dog search teams, at the juxtaposed
controls.

The selection of vehicles for screening is made on an intelligence led basis. Border Force staff, their contractors and detection technology are deployed to meet the risk.

In 2013/14 Border Force and its contractors detected 18,000 clandestine attempts to enter the UK illegally at our juxtaposed controls. This represents an increase of over 60% from 2012/13.

The UK and French Governments have signed a joint declaration agreeing to work together to improve the quality of border controls.

Border Force deploys 7,500 specialist staff, five cutters at sea and spends £518 million a year protecting our borders.

Answered by:
James Brokenshire (Conservative)
15 December 2014