Asked by: Joanna Cherry (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many additional UK border force staff are planned to be recruited in 2021 following the UK-EU Trade and cooperation agreement.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Border Force has recruited over 1000 permanent staff for 1 Jan. In addition to the 900 FTE recruited in 19/20 we will have brought in a further 1,100 by July 2021, in advance of full customs controls.
Asked by: Joanna Cherry (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government plans to agree bilateral treaties with EU Member States for cross border policing.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement includes a deal on law enforcement and criminal justice cooperation which delivers a comprehensive package of capabilities that will ensure we can work with counterparts across Europe to tackle serious crime and terrorism. Hence the UK Parliament’s support for the agreement was a vital part of ensuring we can use these capabilities to protect the public and bring criminals to justice across our Union.
We also have excellent bilateral cooperation with Member States across the EU on a wide range of law enforcement and criminal justice issues. We will continue to consider ways we can strengthen this.