Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff Border Force has in place to deal with any expected additional workload at the port of Holyhead after the UK leaves the EU.

As we prepare to leave the EU, it is vital that we continue to ensure opera-tional resilience at the border.Border Force has recruited a Readiness Task Force to provide operational resilience to the frontline and allow existing staff to undertake EU exit related training. The c.300 multi-disciplinary Border Force officers will be fully de-ployed by the end of the year.

An additional c.600 Border Force officers are being recruited in 2018/19 to respond to the new requirements it will face as a result of EU Exit and to pro-vide resilience at key locations. Border Force will always ensure it has the necessary resources to keep the border secure and will respond flexibly to emerging requirements through ongoing assessments of operational needs.