Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of current deterrence measures aimed at reducing illegal Channel crossings; and what further steps she plans to take to prevent small-boat arrivals.

The Government has taken significant steps to address illegal migration and its Plan for Change sets out our ambition to secure borders and control immigration. We are committed to tackling illegal migration and the criminal networks which facilitate it. Since July 2024, nearly 50,000 individuals without lawful status have been removed from the UK. Our agreement with France means that those arriving by small boats can be detained and returned to France.

The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 has now received Royal Assent and the overarching impact assessment for this can be found here:

Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill 2025: impact assessments - GOV.UK

The Government is continuously monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of our measures in place to tackle small boats. As stated in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act, the Border Security Command will be publishing an annual report, which must state the Commander’s views on the performance in the financial year of the border security system. This is set out in the Act here:

Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025

Border security is fundamental to both our national security and economic security and evaluating our approach is a critical part of that.

On 17 November, this Government published a statement entitled “Restoring Order and Control” which set out significant reforms to the UK’s asylum and illegal migration system. The statement outlined the current challenges, the Government’s objectives, and a comprehensive package of measures to restore order, control, fairness and public confidence in the system. The Government is working at pace on the legislative and policy changes required and will set out timelines for implementation in due course.