Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment the Government has made of the potential additional cost of policing the Northern Irish border in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Across Government we are working closely with operational partners on contingency planning so we can ensure the safety and security of our citizens in all scenarios.

On 18 December, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury announced that the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) would receive an additional £16.48m for financial year 2019-20 to support their planning for EU-exit.

This funding will help the PSNI manage pressures and contingencies arising from EU exit preparations which fall in the 2019/20 financial year, reflecting the specific and unique concerns in Northern Ireland.