§ Mr. PaiceTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff were employed at UK seaports and airports from(a) the Immigration Service and (b) Special Branch in each of the last five years. [177169]
§ Mr. BrowneThe information is as follows:
(a) The table sets out the number of full-time equivalent immigration officials employed at seaports and airports, as at 1 January for the last five years.
764W
Immigration staff 1999 2082.4 2000 2124.5 2001 2266.9 2002 2609 2003 3202.94 2004 3176.4 As at 1 June 2004, the UK Immigration Service had posted a further 181 immigration officials and an additional 20 were in training.
(b) The deployment of Special Branch officers at ports within the UK is a decision for the Chief Constable of the policing area concerned after consultation with the National Co-ordinator of Ports Policing. However, it is the Home Office view that it is inappropriate to divulge exact numbers as to do so may impact on the overall counter-terrorist strategy.
§ Mr. PaiceTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures are in place to facilitate cooperation between Customs and Excise, the UK Immigration Service, Special Branch and ports police forces at UK seaports and airports. [177170]
§ Mr. BrowneThe Government are committed to ensuring that Her Majesty's Customs and Excise (HMCE), Special Branches and the Immigration Service work together far more effectively. My right hon. Friends, the Home Secretary and the Chancellor have tasked the Director-General of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, the Director-General of HMCE Law Enforcement and representatives of the Association of Chief Police Officers to develop more closely aligned objectives and priorities within their individual business plans. The group will report periodically to me and my hon. Friend, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury.
§ Mr. PaiceTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the designated airports and seaports in the UK. [177172]
§ Mr. BrowneThe ports specified in the Schedule to the Immigration (Ports of Entry) Order 1987 are those designated as ports of entry for the purposes of the Immigration Act 1971.
765WThey are:
- Seaports and Hoverports
- Dover
- Felixstowe
- Folkestone
- Harwich
- Hull
- London
- Newhaven
- Plymouth
- Portsmouth
- Ramsgate
- Sheerness
- Southampton
- Tyne
- Airports
- Aberdeen
- Belfast
- Birmingham
- Bournemouth (Hurn)
- Bristol
- Cardiff (Wales)
- East Midlands
- Edinburgh
- Gatwick-London
- Glasgow
- Heathrow-London
- Leeds/Bradford
- Liverpool
- Luton
- Manchester
- Newcastle
- Norwich
- Prestwick
- Southampton
- Southend
- Stansted-London
- Teesside