Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress she has made in introducing universal exit checks; and if she will make a statement.

The Government is committed to reintroducing exit checks. By April 2015, comprehensive exit checks will apply on scheduled and commercial air, sea and rail routes.

We have recently introduced new powers in the Immigration Act 2014 to support embarkation checks at the border, and we continue to work with carriers and port operators to explore the least burdensome way of delivering the exit checks commitment.