Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) shortages of UK Border Force staff in Calais, and (2) the impact of any such shortages on delays to entry to the UK; and what (a) plans they have, and (b) timescale they have established, to address any such shortages.

We understand it can be frustrating to have to wait to go through the UK border, but the safety and security of the public will always be our number one priority. There are many factors that influence wait times and we continue to work closely with port operators, industry partners and our French counterparts, to ensure officers are deployed flexibly and when required to meet demand and support passengers.

It is important to note that whilst it may appear that there are shortages of staff when queues form, Border Force resource is deployed not just to carry out essential checks at the border, but also to detect harmful goods and safeguard vulnerable and exploited individuals, which means that at times not all border control points will be open.