Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of whether sentencing outcomes for immigration-related offences under the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 reflect the seriousness of those offences.

The Nationality and Borders Act 2022 introduced new and tougher criminal offences for those attempting to enter the UK illegally. Specifically, it raised the maximum penalty for illegal entry from 6 months to 4 years’ imprisonment, increased the maximum penalty for entering in breach of a deportation order to 5 years and introduced life sentences for those facilitating a breach of immigration law. Individual sentences handed down by the courts are a matter for the judiciary, having regard to the Sentencing Council’s General Guideline.

We will continue to keep these offences under review in light of feedback on their operation and evidence as to their impact.