Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 14 June (HL325), how government departments and agencies decide who should take executive action to prosecute a series of contacts of interest.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
Each of the Government departments and agencies represented at the National Maritime Information Centre has a specific remit and depending on what the nature of the operational scenario in question is, the department or agency with the legislatively proscribed lead responsibility for investigating activity of that kind will take the necessary action. Other departments and agencies will provide support to the lead department or agency as required.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are investigating the use of University Royal Naval Unit craft and the Maritime Volunteer Service to increase the number of platforms available for security of UK territorial seas.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
Border Force and its partner organisations are well prepared to counter attempts by migrants to use small boats to circumvent border security and enter the UK illegally. A number of counter-measures have been put in place to detect and deter this activity, including the coordination of maritime security assets, so that maximum coverage at sea is delivered that ensures assets are in the right place at the right time.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the National Maritime Intelligence Centre has any command and control authority over assets available for security of UK territorial seas.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The National Maritime Information Centre (NMIC) facilitates information exchange between government departments and agencies. Command and control of assets is administered by the respective organisations that are represented in the NMIC.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which government department is responsible for surveillance, production of a reorganised surface picture, and security, of the UK territorial seas.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The responsibility for the security and surveillance of the UK territorial seas is shared across a number of Government departments and agencies including the Department for Transport, Border Force, and Ministry of Defence.
The National Maritime Information Centre provides the platform for the cross-government understanding of maritime activity. It brings together information and intelligence provided by the various Government departments and agencies and supported by international partnerships provides the UK with unified situational awareness of maritime activity in the UK and international waters.