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1462185

registered interest
date	11/05/2022
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Immigration Controls: Heathrow Airport
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help (a) reduce the average time taken to process passenger arrivals at Heathrow Airport and (b) tackle shortages of aviation staff.
tabling member constituency	Hampstead and Kilburn
tabling member printed	Tulip Siddiq
uin	900
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2022 answer text <p>Border Force is committed to ensuring passengers wait times are kept to a minimum, however this must be balanced with our duty to Border Security, checking 100% of passports and making sure that anyone or anything that might cause harm to the UK is correctly dealt with.</p><p>Resource and staffing requirements at every port are continually reviewed by Border Force who work closely with port operators to ensure resources are deployed flexibly as and when they are required. Despite Easter being one of the highest periods of inbound travel from the past two years, Border Force were able to successfully deliver a secure and effective border control with little to no disruption to passengers at Heathrow and all other major ports in the UK.</p><p>Border Force also received praise from Heathrow Airport Limited on its operational posture over the Easter period allowing passengers to enjoy a relatively hassle yet secure entry into the United Kingdom.</p><p>However, Border Force has already begun planning extensively for the Summer period and will not hesitate to deploy staff to the ports where they are most needed including to boost resilience, including Heathrow.</p><p>Which Border Force does not recruit aviation staff, we are working closely with all UK ports and airports to ensure passengers have the smoothest possible journey.</p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 20/05/2022 11:49:05 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	4518 label Biography information for Tulip Siddiq

1332180

registered interest
date	10/06/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Immigration Controls: Heathrow Airport
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many additional Border Force staff have been mobilised since 17 May to reduce the queueing time at passport control in Heathrow Airport; and what is the average queueing time at passport control on arrival at Heathrow.
tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
uin	HL1007
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2021 answer text <p>Border Force is ensuring that it has the right level of resources to check that passengers are compliant with our border health measures to minimise wait times at the border whilst ensuring we maintain border security and public health.</p><p>We have taken steps to make sure that there is the maximum number of additional Border Force officers possible to carry out those crucial checks, ensuring compliance with health measures, while minimizing wait time.</p><p>Since January 2020 to May 2021 Border Force overall workforce has grown by over 290 to a figure of around 9,300 FTE.</p><p>This is in addition to the return of staff from detached duty and the return of critically vulnerable staff to the front line, as well the capability to deploy resources flexibly across the United Kingdom to deal with any increase on demand.</p><p>As the Director General of Border Force stated at the Public Account Committee session on the 10<sup>th</sup> June, the average time this year for anyone travelling through Heathrow has been under 30 minutes.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 24/06/2021 14:31:07 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

1303277

registered interest
date	17/03/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Immigration Controls: Heathrow Airport
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to reduce queues at Heathrow airport.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	170636
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2021 answer text <p>Wait times in airports can be caused by a number of factors, not just related to resourcing. This includes all mandated border security activity, the volume of immigration case working, additional support and checks in relation to Covid-19, and specific security activity.</p><p>Our teams seek to balance this range of tasking each day. Whilst mindful of passenger wait times and experience, our primary objective is to ensure the security of the border</p><p>Like all public services operating throughout this unprecedented global pandemic, there have been additional pressures placed on Border Force and the safety of the public and our staff remains our priority.</p><p>Resource and staffing requirements at every port, including Heathrow, are continually reviewed by Border Force working with airport operators including Heathrow Airport Ltd. Resources are deployed flexibly as and when they are required.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 26/03/2021 13:25:40 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1302064

registered interest
date	11/03/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Immigration Controls: Heathrow Airport
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the remarks by the Chief Operating Officer of Heathrow Airport that queues at border control (1) regularly exceed three hours, and (2) sometimes exceed six hours; what plans they have to provide more staff to process border procedures; and what assessment they have made of the impact of border control waiting times on the UK’s international reputation.
tabling member printed	Baroness Randerson
uin	HL14155
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2021 answer text <p>Wait times in airports can be caused by a number of factors, not just related to resourcing. This includes all mandated border security activity, the volume of immigration case working, additional support, specific security activity and, like many other international destinations, checks in relation to ensuring border health measures relating to the Covid-19 have been complied with.</p><p>Our teams seek to balance this range of tasking each day. Whilst mindful of passenger wait times and experience, our primary objective is to ensure the security of the border and compliance with border health measures.</p><p>Like all public services operating throughout this unprecedented global pandemic, there have been additional pressures placed on Border Force and the safety of the public and our staff remains our priority.</p><p>Resource and staffing requirements at every port, including Heathrow, are continually reviewed by Border Force working with airport operators including Heathrow Airport Ltd.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 25/03/2021 16:30:41 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	4230 label Biography information for Baroness Randerson

1300454

registered interest
date	08/03/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Immigration Controls: Heathrow Airport
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase the number of Border Force staff at Heathrow Airport; and what steps they have taken to verify the accuracy of reports of excessive waiting times for border checks at that airport.
tabling member printed	Baroness Randerson
uin	HL13991
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/03/2021 answer text <p>Wait times in airports can be caused by a number of factors, not just related to resourcing. This includes all mandated border security activity, the volume of immigration case working, additional support and checks in relation to Covid-19, and specific security activity. Our teams seek to balance this range of tasking each day. Whilst mindful of passenger wait times and experience, our primary objective is to ensure the security of the border.</p><p>Like all public services operating throughout this unprecedented global pandemic, there have been additional pressures placed on Border Force and the safety of the public and our staff remains our priority.</p><p>Resource and staffing requirements at every port, including Heathrow, are continually reviewed by Border Force working with airport operators including Heathrow Airport Ltd. Resources are deployed flexibly as and when they are required.</p><p> </p><p><strong></strong></p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 22/03/2021 17:05:06 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	4230 label Biography information for Baroness Randerson

1274259

registered interest
date	06/01/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Immigration Controls: Heathrow Airport
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the maximum queue time for non-EEA passengers at Heathrow was during the November 2020 covid-19 lockdown period while international travel was banned.
tabling member constituency	West Dorset
tabling member printed	Chris Loder
uin	134160
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2021 answer text <p>The latest Performance Data on Heathrow Queue times can be found on the link below:</p><p><a href="https://www.heathrow.com/content/dam/heathrow/web/common/documents/company/about/performance/border-force/2020/Border_Force_Performance_Nov20.pdf" target="_blank">Heathrow Queue Performance</a></p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 15/01/2021 15:30:06 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4751 label Biography information for Chris Loder

1274261

registered interest
date	06/01/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Immigration Controls: Heathrow Airport
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of Border Force resources to deliver its service level agreement with Heathrow airport in 2021.
tabling member constituency	West Dorset
tabling member printed	Chris Loder
uin	134161
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/01/2021 answer text <p>Border Force is confident that resources to meet anticipated overall operational requirements are in place with Border Force recruiting sufficient additional frontline staff and continuing to build staffing levels during 2020/2021 across all critical ports.</p><p>Resource and staffing requirements at every port, including Heathrow, are continually reviewed by Border Force working with airport operators including Heathrow Airport Ltd, and resources are deployed flexibly as and when they are required.</p><p>Nationally, Border Force recruited over 1,000 additional officers in preparation for the end of transition and continues to ensure maximum flexibility in their recruitment and deployment approach.</p><p>Wait times in airports can be caused by a number of factors, not just related to resourcing. This includes the volume of immigration case working, additional support and checks in relation to Covid-19, and specific security activity. Our teams seek to balance this range of tasking each day. Whilst mindful of passenger wait times and experience, our primary objective is to ensure the security of the border and that all mandated security activity is carried out to keep the country safe.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 11/01/2021 13:25:51 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4751 label Biography information for Chris Loder

1271452

registered interest
date	15/12/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Immigration Controls: Heathrow Airport
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2020 to Question 120898 on Heathrow Airport, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of resource and support provided to Border Force to ensure that it is able to effectively discharge its duties at Heathrow within agreed service level agreements (a) over the Christmas period and (b) at the end of the transition period.
tabling member constituency	St Austell and Newquay
tabling member printed	Steve Double
uin	130135
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/12/2020 answer text <p>Border Force is confident that resources to meet anticipated overall operational requirements are in place for the Christmas and transition period, with Border Force recruiting sufficient additional frontline staff and continuing to build staffing levels during 2020 across all critical ports. This will ensure full operational readiness at the UK border to meet the requirements from the end of transition.</p><p>Resource and staffing requirements at every port, including Heathrow, are continually reviewed by Border Force working with airport operators including Heathrow Airport Ltd, and resources are deployed flexibly as and when they are required.</p><p>Wait times in airports can be caused by a number of factors, not just related to resourcing. This includes the volume of immigration case working, additional support, checks in relation to Covid-19, and specific security activity. Our teams seek to balance this range of tasking each day. Whilst mindful of passenger wait times and experience, our primary objective is to ensure the security of the border.</p><p>New Border Force staff receive a comprehensive package of training prior to operational deployment. comprehensive guidance and training plans have been developed to upskill BF frontline officers in new policy, process and system changes for the end of the Transition Period. Initial training is further reinforced and supplemented by on the job mentoring once new staff have been deployed to UK ports.</p><p>Figures for the queue time for non-EEA passengers during the period from 5 November 2020 2 December 2020 are yet to be published.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp grouped question UIN 130136 question first answered 21/12/2020 13:05:23 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4452 label Biography information for Steve Double

1271453

registered interest
date	15/12/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Immigration Controls: Heathrow Airport
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the maximum queue time for non-EEA passengers at Heathrow Airport during the period of national restrictions in England from 5 November 2020 to 2 December 2020.
tabling member constituency	St Austell and Newquay
tabling member printed	Steve Double
uin	130136
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/12/2020 answer text <p>Border Force is confident that resources to meet anticipated overall operational requirements are in place for the Christmas and transition period, with Border Force recruiting sufficient additional frontline staff and continuing to build staffing levels during 2020 across all critical ports. This will ensure full operational readiness at the UK border to meet the requirements from the end of transition.</p><p>Resource and staffing requirements at every port, including Heathrow, are continually reviewed by Border Force working with airport operators including Heathrow Airport Ltd, and resources are deployed flexibly as and when they are required.</p><p>Wait times in airports can be caused by a number of factors, not just related to resourcing. This includes the volume of immigration case working, additional support, checks in relation to Covid-19, and specific security activity. Our teams seek to balance this range of tasking each day. Whilst mindful of passenger wait times and experience, our primary objective is to ensure the security of the border.</p><p>New Border Force staff receive a comprehensive package of training prior to operational deployment. comprehensive guidance and training plans have been developed to upskill BF frontline officers in new policy, process and system changes for the end of the Transition Period. Initial training is further reinforced and supplemented by on the job mentoring once new staff have been deployed to UK ports.</p><p>Figures for the queue time for non-EEA passengers during the period from 5 November 2020 2 December 2020 are yet to be published.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp grouped question UIN 130135 question first answered 21/12/2020 13:05:23 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4452 label Biography information for Steve Double

1255554

registered interest
date	25/11/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Immigration Controls: Heathrow Airport
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the average passenger queue times at the UK border at Heathrow Airport over Summer 2020.
tabling member constituency	St Austell and Newquay
tabling member printed	Steve Double
uin	120898
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/12/2020 answer text <p>Operational pressures at Heathrow in July, August and September 2020 resulted in periods where wait time service level agreements (SLAs) have not been met. As you know, Border Force undertake 100% checks on everyone arriving in the UK and there will be occasions when large amounts of passengers arrive in an un-forecast short space of time, resulting in a longer wait. Like all public services operating throughout this unprecedented global pandemic, there have been additional pressures placed on Border Force, but the safety of the public and our staff remains our priority.</p><p>As well as being guided by social-distancing measures in relation to the number of officers that could be deployed on the Primary Control Point, a significant number of passengers had failed to complete the Passenger Locator Forms required as part of the health measures at the border processes. Ensuring that these forms are completed is an important part of the protection of the UK in respect to being able to complement the Government’s track and trace programme should anyone on a flight or entry route later discover to be infected with Coronavirus; and the ability for PHE and the police to follow up in-country if required.</p><p>If travellers refuse to provide their contact details, they could be fined. In addition to their routine checks, Border Force Officers conduct spot checks on passenger locator forms The failure of passengers to complete the passenger locator form and the ensuing increase to transaction times has been compounded by the commercial decision made by Heathrow Airport Limited to terminate their contract with Omniserv, who performed vital customer service roles in the arrival halls. This included directing passengers to the correct queue, directing passengers to Border Force Officers on the passport control, and hosting the e-Passport Gates. With no replacement for these roles, passenger flow and throughput has been detrimentally impacted</p><p>On top of this, airlines are adopting focussed marketing and pricing campaigns to stimulate the revival of the aviation sector. For the same reasons, Heathrow Airport Ltd has allocated several new airlines arrival slots at Heathrow. The cumulative effect of these measures has been to make travel to the United Kingdom more affordable and accessible to passengers changing their demographic. This means an increase in those passengers requiring further examination by a Border Force Officer in order to keep our country safe.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 02/12/2020 13:03:27 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4452 label Biography information for Steve Double