By Richard Johnstone | 10 December 2013
The Border Force has weakened security at UK borders by focusing on passenger checks and neglecting examination of freight for illicit goods or vehicles for concealed illegal migrants, MPs have warned.
Examining the work of the force, which was established as a standalone agency in February 2012, the Public Accounts Committee highlighted that it had missed 8 of its 19 seizure and detection targets.
The Border Force: securing the border warned that, as the agency had been unable to deliver its full range of duties, it was unclear whether it could cope with growing demands from increased passenger numbers and airfreight.
Although the government has provided extra funding to increase staff numbers by 400, this only partly reverses the reduction of 500 posts that occurred between 2010 and 2012. Such short-term workforce changes represent a poor use of public resources, the PAC said, and the force must demonstrate it is able to deliver its workload within available funding.
The planning of the Border Force’s workforce has been ‘extremely poor’ and spending plans for 2013/14 involve spending of 4% more than its budget, chair Margaret Hodge added.
‘A cut in staff of 500 between 2010 and 2012 was immediately followed, when 100% passenger checks were introduced, by spending to increase the number of frontline staff from 7,600 to 8,000,’ she added. ‘Paying out redundancy and then rehiring staff is bad value for money and demonstrates poor planning.
‘The Border Force prioritised passenger checks on arrival at the expense of other duties and weakened the security of our borders. The force neglected to examine freight for illicit goods, neglected to check lorries in Calais for concealed illegal entrants, and failed to check passengers coming into Britain on private planes or boats, potentially letting billionaire gangsters off the hook.’
Responding to the report, immigration minister Mark Harper said it would take time to improve the force following the decision to split it from the then UK Border Agency. He said the issues raised by the PAC were being ‘actively addressed’.
‘Border Force was split from the UK Border Agency last year to create a separate command with a clear security and law enforcement ethos,’ Harper said.
‘It is making significant improvements in its performance – excessive queues at airports are gone and security strengthened. This extends to both passengers and goods and is underpinned, for the first time, by a clear operating mandate set by ministers.’
The remainder of the UKBA has since been absorbed into the Home Office.
