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Written question asked by Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative) on Monday, 18 May 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 20 May 2026. It was answered by Alex Norris (Labour) on Wednesday, 27 May 2026 on behalf of the Home Office.


Undocumented Migrants: Statistics

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's statement entitled Latest statement in response to small boat crossings, published on 6 February 2026, what is the (a) source material and (b) evidential basis for the illegal migrants statistic; what period of time does the statistics cover; and whether it is a statistics produced by the (a) UK Government and (b) French Government.

Answer

Statistics relating to the number of illegal migrants prevented from attempting to cross the channel is published on GOV.UK at -

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/migrants-detected-crossing-the-english-channel-in-small-boats

As explained in the notes to the dataset: data on preventions are operational estimates collected and provided to the Home Office by French authorities. The prevention data includes: individuals who are prevented from departing France, or those who return to France, finds of general maritime equipment, and arrests of facilitators linked to small boats crossings. Preventions data has been routinely captured since May 2024.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
2108
Session
2026-27
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Subjects
Undocumented migrants France Statistics English Channel
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk