§ Sir Ivan LawrenceTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to alter the embarkation checks on passengers leaving the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Charles WardleFrom 1 February passports will not normally be checked on departure from ferry ports and small airports for EC destinations. At the main airport terminals and on departure elsewhere for destinations outside the EC, the passports of non-EC nationals will continue to be examined; EC nationals will, as now, be expected to present their documents, but the closer examination of a 10 per cent. sample will cease.
These changes should freqe staff resources for work which contributes more directly to the effectiveness of the immigration control. The immigration officer's power to examine the passport of any departing passenger will however remain, and it will still be possible to mount ad hoc checks where, for example, there is reason to believe that someone of interest to the police in connection with serious crime is likely to leave the country by a particular route. Police powers under the Prevention of Terrorism legislation are unaffected.