HC Deb 13 July 1995 vol 263 c697W
Mr. Thurnham

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to compare the performance of the Immigration Service at the different ports of entry to the United Kingdom. [33840]

Mr. Nicholas Baker

The National Audit Office report. "Entry into the United Kingdom"—HC204—made a number of recommendations about the development of an indicator system to compare the performance of the Immigration Service at individual ports of entry. All the recommendations are being carefully considered and as a first step the Immigration Service has made significant revisions to its management information system to facilitate better use and easier comparisons of performance indicators. Further work is continuing.

Mr. Thurnham

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking to improve passenger clearance times at ports of entry. [33839]

Mr. Baker

The Immigration Service has published service standards for passenger queuing times at all ports and airports, and monitoring exercises have shown that these standards have generally been achieved. Consistent with the need to apply effectively the immigration rules as set down by Parliament, the service seeks to introduce measures aimed at further improving this aspect of its work—often in co-operation with port operators and carrying companies. Recent initiatives includethe introduction of new shift arrangements at certain ports to help match staff deployment more closely to predicted weight of arriving traffic, particularly during the early morning; the development of fast track facilities at Heathrow terminals 3 and 4; increased on-board coach clearance at Dover; and special arrangements for tour groups at Heathrow terminal 4.