§ Mr. GogginsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of immigration service resources is devoted to(a) arriving passengers, (b) departing passengers and (c) asylum applicants. [33874]
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§ Mr. Mike O'BrienIn the calendar year up to 31 December 1997:
- (i) 66 per cent. of the Immigration Service Ports Directorate operational duties were deployed on the arrivals control:
- (ii) 7 per cent. on the embarkation control: and
- (iii) 11 per cent. on asylum related work.
§ Mr. GogginsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if all passengers leaving the UK are(a) liable to departure checks by the immigration service and (b) checked. [33871]
§ Mr. Mike O'Brien(a) All passengers are potentially liable to a form of departure check. Under the Immigration Act 1971, an immigration officer may seek to establish whether or not a person leaving the country is a British citizen and, if he is not, his identity.
(b) In practice, about 40% of embarking passengers do not see an immigration officer. In 1994, embarkation checks were withdrawn from passengers departing from ferry ports and small airports for destinations within the European Union. Since then, the arrangements have been extended to all European Economic Area countries, that is: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden
§ Mr. GogginsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the cost and value of a comprehensive system of immigration service departure checks. [33873]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienNo system would be totally comprehensive because there is no embarkation control between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. The cost of information technology for the most comprehensive system possible is likely to be about £73 million over a ten year period. The additional staffing cost, for ports, is estimated at about £7.2 million a year.
Such a system would provide better statistical information on overstaying but would not assist to any significant degree in the apprehension of immigration offenders, because they rarely remain at the address given on arrival. It would not help at all in respect of those who enter clandestinely.
It would, therefore, be expensive and not the most cost effective way of tackling abuse of the immigration control.
§ Mr. GogginsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what powers immigration officers have in performing departure checks. [33872]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe immigration officer undertakes departure checks to identify persons subject to control under the Immigration Act 1971 and, where necessary, records that departure. Under the Immigration Act, an immigration officer has the power to require the presentation of a passport or equivalent document, but has no express power to prevent departure.