Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many vacancies for full time Border Force roles were being advertised at the point at which the Border Force Seasonal Workforce programme was discontinued.

As of the 1^st of April 2024, there were 449 Seasonal Workforce staff in contract. The Seasonal Workforce (SWF) was a temporary staffing resource used to support operational delivery during periods of peak demand and recruited under exemptions from the normal civil service recruitment procedures. In 2024, a decision was taken to cease the use of the SWF, recruited under CSC exemptions, and instead recruit permanent resource Border Force Officers in line with the Civil Service recruitment principles of fair and open recruitment and improved strategic workforce planning. The use of the SWF ended by 31 January 2025.

In September 2024, Border Force launched the Alternative Working Campaign, which was introduced in part to replace the use of the SWF and better align staffing to operational peaks. Border Force advertised 67 of these roles nationally. In accordance with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles, all recruitment under this scheme is conducted using a sifting process where all identifying information is removed and all appointments were made on merit through open and fair competition. As a result, it is not possible to determine whether any candidates were previously part of the seasonal workforce.

All costs for Border Force staffing are accounted for in the 2024-25 Home Office annual report and accounts at Home Office annual report and accounts: 2024 to 2025 - GOV.UK.