Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to An inspection of Border Force insider threat (January – March 2023), published by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration on 7 September 2023, what recent assessment she has made of the potential implications of low morale among Border Force officers for her Department’s efforts to reduce the number of asylum seekers crossing the channel in small boats.

The ICIBI’s report acknowledged that Border Force has built strong organisational trust and has a supportive culture through a specific programme for identifying and preventing insider threats, which built on existing vetting and security procedures. The Home Office has also instituted several support mechanisms to provide help to its staff.

However, the Home Office does not recognise the morale of staff to be a current issue in the response to, and management of, dangerous, illegal and unnecessary crossings of the Channel by migrants in Small Boats. The Small Boats Operational Command (SBOC) of Border Force has a number of support mechanisms in place to provide help to its staff and so lesson risks to morale. Since integrating into Border Force, and with new governance structures in place, the Small Boats Operational Command (SBOC) can proactively manage and prioritise mental health and wellbeing in line with the wider Command, ensuring staff feel supported.