Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate the Government has made of the effect of delays at border controls on the UK economy.

The primary role of Border Force is to maintain the security of the UK border, this includes checking 100 per cent of scheduled arriving passengers, although every effort is made to minimise delays for passengers. We aim to get 95% of EEA nationals through the border within 25 minutes and 95% of non-EEA nationals within 45 minutes, and millions of customers each year get through the border in much shorter timeframes. In June 2018 over 99% of UK and EEA nationals, the vast majority of passengers, were processed within this timeframe at Heathrow.

We recognise how important tourism is, worth £66bn to the UK economy in 2016 and with record levels of visitors in 2017, as well as business travellers’ time which is why the government is now looking towards developing a longer term strategy which will better balance prosperity and security at the border, including increasing the use of automation where commensurate with security requirements. This is alongside the steps taken now to ensure passengers pass through the border as quickly as possible, including additional staff at the busiest ports for peak times and increased investment in technology. We are committed to ensuring that Border Force has the resources it needs to keep the UK safe and we will never compromise the security of our borders.