Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what change there was in the number of passengers refused entry at port and subsequently deported from 2009 to 2010; and what assessment she has made of the reasons for that change.

A total of 18,276 people were refused entry at port and subsequently departed in 2010 compared with 29,162 in 2009.

The number of people refused entry at port and subsequently departed has decreased since the beginning of the data series in 2004. The overall falls are likely to be due to a combination of factors, including: tighter screening of passengers prior to travel including upstream interventions by RALON; performance of carriers on their checks made in support of the Carrier’s liability requirements; effectiveness of visa regimes including the imposition of new visa regimes; for example, South African nationals have been required to have a visa for any length or type of visit to the UK since July 2009.

In the past couple of years, the figures have shown small levels of fluctuations. The number of passengers refused entry at port and who
subsequently departed has increased by 3% in the year ending June 2014, to 14,671 from 14,247 for the previous 12 months.