HL Deb 01 April 1996 vol 571 cc10-1WA
Lord Northfield

asked Her Majesty's Government:

On how many occasions in the past month practical difficulties have caused the cancellation of passport inspection on Eurostar trains from Paris.

Baroness Blatch

In the period 21st February 1996 to 20th March 1996 practical difficulties led to the scheduled passport control on board Eurostar services from Paris being replaced on 10 occasions (about 3 per cent. of the total) by a control on arrival at Waterloo International.

Lord Northfield

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What are the terms of contractual arrangements between the Home Office and European Passenger Services (EPS) concerning the regularity of on-train inspection of passports by immigration officers on Eurostar trains from Paris; and how much EPS pays for this service.

Baroness Blatch

The regularity of on-board passport control by immigration officers on Eurostar services is agreed in discussions between the Immigration Service and European Passenger Services. The details of the terms and costs of the contract which sets out the basis for these discussions are matters of commercial confidentiality which it would not be proper to disclose.

Lord Northfield

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many immigration officers are employed to inspect passports on Eurostar trains from Paris; and how many more inspectors would be required to ensure that all passengers' passports are checked on such trains.

Baroness Blatch

Currently there are 116 immigration officers based at Waterloo International, all of whom are engaged in carrying out passport controls on Eurostar services. This level of staff is sufficient to carry out passport control on board all services from Paris except those which we have agreed with European Passenger Services will not have on-board clearance. In addition, there are occasions when practical difficulties, such as staff sickness, lead to the cancellation of a scheduled on-board control. We do not have spare staff at Waterloo International to cater for such circumstances; it would clearly be very wasteful of resources to do so. In the absence of on-board controls, we seek to delay passengers as little as possible at our control at Waterloo International and to meet our published service standard for maximum queuing times.