§ Harry CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are taken to co-ordinate Government resources in monitoring non-commercial aircraft movements to detect people smuggling; and if he will make a statement. [183225]
§ Mr. BrowneThe Government monitors the movement of non-commercial aircraft through the Border Agencies Working Group, a forum that brings together representatives from the control authorities, the Civil Aviation Authority and Transec. The Group co-ordinates an on-going series of multi-agency operations at small ports and airfields, which assess levels of risk, and provides a forum for the control authorities to develop shared intelligence.
Additionally the Immigration Service regularly assesses the risks to the UK immigration control and will be monitoring whether the recent disruption by the police of an alleged facilitation attempt using light aircraft in Kent was a "one-off" or is part of a trend to target small airfields. The border agencies and law enforcement are actively engaged in a series of joint working initiatives to identify and combat external risks and organised criminal activity targeting the UK borders at small ports and airfields.