§ Mr. Malins:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many UK immigration officers are in post working at (a) French ports, (b) Belgian ports and (c) other European ports on matters concerning immigration control. [142160]
§ Beverley Hughes:No UK immigration officers are in post in French ports but officers are currently deployed to French ports on a daily basis. There are 200 officers across three operational grades who are based in Cheriton near Folkestone and who are liable to work in the UK control zone at the Eurotunnel site in Coquelles where the UK Immigration Service provides 24-hour coverage.
There are 125 officers across three operational grades based at Waterloo International who perform duties in Lille Europe, Paris Gare du Nord, where the UK Immigration service covers all UK-bound Eurostar services. Officers based at Waterloo also assist the Belgian Immigration authorities in an advisory capacity at the Gare du Midi in Brussels.
§ Mr. Malins:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many potential illegal entrants to this country have been discovered at French ports in the last 12 months; and what steps have been taken against them. [142161]
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§ Beverley Hughes:The French authorities do not publish figures of illegal immigrants discovered at Channel ports.
French policy is to remove illegal immigrants discovered in the Calais area, and take them to other parts of France to be processed where possible, thus disrupting contact with illegal networks. French police continue to arrest and imprison facilitators.
In addition, the UK and France have together taken vigorous action to combat illegal immigration to the UK following the closure of the Red Cross centre at Sangatte. Initiatives include the deployment of high-tech freight searching equipment to Calais, and British immigration officers working in an advisory capacity alongside the French Police aux Frontieres (PAF) at the port of Calais. Plans are under way to allow British immigration officers to exercise their full control powers at the ports of Calais, Dunkirk and Boulogne, as they already do at the Channel Tunnel. PAF officers will similarly be able to operate their controls at Dover.
Indicative management information suggests that the wide range of measures now in place in Calais and Coquelles has resulted in over 6,000 people being prevented from travelling to the UK from these points in the first nine months of this year.
§ Mr. Malins:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many heat detector machines are installed at (a) Dover, (b) Folkestone, (c) Portsmouth, (d) Cheriton and (e) other UK ports. [142164]
§ Beverley Hughes:The Immigration Service does not use heat detector machines however, it does deploy and operate a range of detection technology to detect clandestine entrants.
Heartbeat detectors and a gamma ray scanner are deployed at Dover. This technology is not employed at Folkestone, Portsmouth, Cheriton or any other UK ports, although x-ray scanners operated by Customs are routinely deployed at UK ports. Additionally, carbon dioxide detectors and body detection dogs, are deployed by the UK immigration service on an intelligence led basis by mobile teams operating at various UK ports in line with current threat levels in support of local immigration freight searching activity.
§ Mr. Malins:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions in the last 12 months heat detector machines at (a) Calais, (b) Coquelles and (c) Dover have broken down or malfunctioned. [142165]
§ Beverley Hughes:The Immigration Service does not employ heat detector machines in the detection of clandestine entrants. However it does deploy and operate a range of detection technologies to detect clandestine entrants including heartbeat detectors, gamma ray scanners, carbon dioxide detectors and Passive Millimetric Wave Imagers (PMMWI), technology that relies on naturally occurring background radiation to produce images indicating human presence in lorries. The equipment receives quarterly maintenance checks to ensure continued effectiveness. During the past 12 months occasional minor technical problems have been 637W encountered. But these have been resolved, either by remote support or by prompt site attendance of an engineer.
Mr. Malin:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many heat detector machines are installed at (a) Calais and (b) Coquelles; and what the corresponding figures were in October 2002. [142166]
§ Beverley Hughes:The Immigration Service does not employ heat detector machines in the detection of clandestine entrants. However it does deploy and operate a range of detection technologies to detect clandestine entrants.
In October 2002 one heartbeat detector was in operation in Calais. There are now three heartbeat units in operation at the port together with two PMMWs (Passive Millimetric Wave Imagers), technology that relies on naturally occurring background radiation to produce images indicating human presence in lorries. This equipment has been loaned by the UK Immigration Service to the Calais port operator and is operated by their staff.
At Coquelles the Immigration Service operate a heartbeat detector and carbon dioxide detectors within the UK Control Zone. Carbon dioxide detectors have been in operation since before October 2002 while the heartbeat detector has been in operation since May 2003.