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To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment has his department made of the potential impact of interdicting Russian shadow fleet vessels transiting the English Channel carrying diesel bound for the United States.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment has his department made of the potential impact of interdicting Russian shadow fleet vessels transiting the English Channel carrying diesel bound for the United States.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of interdicting Russian shadow fleet vessels transiting the English Channel carrying diesel bound for the US on the military relationship between the US and the UK.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of interdicting Russian shadow fleet vessels transiting the English Channel carrying diesel bound for the US on the military relationship between the US and the UK.
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that French police assist migrants seeking to cross the Channel to the UK in small boats.
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that French police assist migrants seeking to cross the Channel to the UK in small boats.
The UK works closely with the French Government and French law enforcement partners to prevent dangerous small boat crossings and tackle the criminal gangs that facilitate them.
Since the election, joint work with France has prevented more than 48,000 attempted crossings and resulted in the seizure of over 1,100 boats and engines. Operational decisions in French territorial waters remain a matter for the French authorities but reports of them assisting migrant journeys is a mischaracterisation of their activity.
Through the Home Secretary's latest deal we have strengthened this cooperation through increased French law enforcement deployments, specialist policing units, enhanced surveillance and intelligence sharing. France has also reviewed its maritime approach and authorised new interventions at sea to intercept taxi boats and prevent dangerous crossings.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data is being shared by her Department with the French government to help tackle small boat crossings.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data is being shared by her Department with the French government to help tackle small boat crossings.
The Home Office shares operational data with French partners to support the disruption, investigation, and prosecution of people-smuggling networks. This includes intelligence, operational information relating to the maritime environment. Information is exchanged through established joint working arrangements and liaison officers based in France.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the trends in the operational costs of processing small boat arrivals since July 2024.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the trends in the operational costs of processing small boat arrivals since July 2024.
We are committed to making irregular migration to the UK via small boats untenable, and arrivals are 43% lower this year. Since the election we have reduced ongoing operational costs of processing small boat arrivals through delivering efficiencies in our capabilities, including through delivering better value for money contracts supporting day to day operations.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many small boat arrivals were recorded in each year between 2016 and 2024.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many small boat arrivals were recorded in each year between 2016 and 2024.
Small boat arrival figures are published on .GOV.UK. The following table details small boat arrivals between 2018 – 2024.
Method of entry | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
Small boat arrivals | 299 | 1,843 | 8,466 | 28,526 | 45,774 | 29,437 | 36,816 |
In relation to pre-2018 figures, the Home Office does not hold sufficiently complete or quality-assured data on small boat crossings. Small boat crossings were not recorded as a significant route of entry before this point, and recording arrangements were not designed to support the reporting and analysis undertaken today. Published small boat arrivals data therefore begins in 2018.
Programme motion agreed to. Written evidence motion agreed to. Motion to sit in private until witnesses admitted agreed to. Examination of witnesses.
Programme motion agreed to. Written evidence motion agreed to. Motion to sit in private until witnesses admitted agreed to. Examination of witnesses.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information the Government holds on the onward disposal or transportation to France of small boats recovered from people attempting to cross the English Channel to the UK.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information the Government holds on the onward disposal or transportation to France of small boats recovered from people attempting to cross the English Channel to the UK.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions the Government has had with the French authorities about the disposal of small boats recovered following attempted Channel crossings, including whether any such boats are subsequently returned to locations from which further crossings can be attempted.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions the Government has had with the French authorities about the disposal of small boats recovered following attempted Channel crossings, including whether any such boats are subsequently returned to locations from which further crossings can be attempted.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information the Department holds on the proportion of small boats recovered by French authorities following attempted Channel crossings that are subsequently reused in further attempts to reach the UK.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information the Department holds on the proportion of small boats recovered by French authorities following attempted Channel crossings that are subsequently reused in further attempts to reach the UK.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what arrangements are in place to minimise the risk that small boats recovered in connection with attempted Channel crossings but not seized by UK authorities cannot subsequently re-enter the supply chain used by organised immigration crime groups.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what arrangements are in place to minimise the risk that small boats recovered in connection with attempted Channel crossings but not seized by UK authorities cannot subsequently re-enter the supply chain used by organised immigration crime groups.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether information is shared with the French authorities concerning the identification and disposal of small boats used in attempted Channel crossings, including information that could assist in establishing whether individual boats are subsequently reused.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether information is shared with the French authorities concerning the identification and disposal of small boats used in attempted Channel crossings, including information that could assist in establishing whether individual boats are subsequently reused.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much has been paid to the French government for help in dealing with small boat crossings in each of the last five years.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much has been paid to the French government for help in dealing with small boat crossings in each of the last five years.
The UK and France maintain a longstanding relationship on tackling illegal migration at our shared border. Joint work with France has prevented more than 48,000 crossing attempts since the last general election. The UK and France have reached agreement on a deal covering the financial years 2026/27 to 2028/29 (New UK-France agreement to reduce illegal crossings - GOV.UK) which aims to increase the number of personnel deployed by 53% and provide a significant increase in technological and intelligence resources to strengthen operations.
Over the past five years, the UK has provided the following funding to France to support our joint work to tackle small boat crossings:
Financial Year | Funding |
2021/22 | €62.7m |
2022/23 | €72.2m |
2023/24 | €141m |
2024/25 | €174m |
2025/26* | €206m |
*Includes accrued funding not yet transferred to France.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of agreements with France in reducing small boat crossings.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of agreements with France in reducing small boat crossings.
The Government keeps the effectiveness of its cooperation with France under constant review. The UK-France Border Security Partnership agreed in April 2026 significantly increases law enforcement activity, intelligence sharing and maritime disruption to tackle organised immigration crime. Joint action is already delivering results, with French law enforcement having prevented more than 48,000 attempted crossings since the election. French authorities report that 61% of crossing events were prevented between 27 April and 2 August, an increase of 5% on the same period last year. In four separate weeks, every attempted crossing event was prevented. The agreement includes robust monitoring and evaluation arrangements, with funding linked to performance and a focus on delivering measurable reductions in illegal migration.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to seek additional agreements with European countries on the return of people who enter the United Kingdom illegally.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to seek additional agreements with European countries on the return of people who enter the United Kingdom illegally.
Over 80,000 individuals with no right to remain in the UK, including those working illegally and foreign criminals, have been returned or removed from the UK since the 2024 election. This includes 13,129 enforced returns and 12,446 voluntary returns to European countries.
Illegal migration is a shared European challenge that requires a coordinated response. The UK’s cooperation with France has resulted in an over 40% reduction in small boat arrivals this year, and the transfer of over 1400 individuals under our UK-France Returns Treaty. We remain committed to working closely with European partners to find a solution to this shared challenge.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many “Red” days there were each month between January 2018 and April 2021.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many “Red” days there were each month between January 2018 and April 2021.
The Met Office provides the Home Office with a daily assessment of the likelihood of at least one small boat crossing attempt which translates into Red, Amber and Green days. This assessment takes multiple factors into account - further detail on the methodology can be found in the previous Home Office publication at www.gov.uk/government/statistics/small-boat-arrivals-and-the-impact-of-crossing-conditions/small-boat-arrivals-and-the-impact-of-crossing-conditions.
The Home Office began receiving the Met Office assessment from September 2019, as such some of the data requested is unavailable. Available data on the number of red days is provided below up to 31 August 2026 – while this goes beyond the periods requested, it is provided in one place for completeness. This data shows that there have been more favourable crossing conditions so far this year than the same period in almost any year since 2020. Red days this year have already exceeded the 106 recorded in the whole of 2022, which saw a record 45,000 migrants arrive in small boats.
To provide additional context to the request, the average number of arrivals per red day per year (to date) has also been provided. This demonstrates a notable reduction in the average number of arrivals per red day in 2026 (to 31 August). The average number of migrants arriving on red days between January and August has fallen by 38% from 232 to 144 over the past year. This represents a 43% drop from the peak of 251 in 2022.
Table 1. Number of red days per month – September 2019 to August 2026
| Red Days | |||||||
2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
Jan | - | 8 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 17 | 6 |
Feb | - | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 5 |
Mar | - | 1 | 9 | 11 | 3 | 9 | 19 | 18 |
Apr | - | 11 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 16 | 14 |
May | - | 12 | 6 | 16 | 13 | 21 | 13 | 20 |
Jun | - | 11 | 18 | 11 | 16 | 20 | 16 | 16 |
Jul | - | 14 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 18 | 22 | 15 |
Aug | - | 14 | 7 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 16 |
Sep | 3 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 13 | 9 | - |
Oct | 5 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 19 | 11 | - |
Nov | 2 | 13 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 8 | - |
Dec | 5 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 5 | - |
Table 2. Average number of small boat arrivals per red day per year to date (1 Jan - 31 Aug)
YTD 2019 | YTD 2020 | YTD 2021 | YTD 2022 | YTD 2023 | YTD 2024 | YTD 2025 | YTD 2026 | |
Total | N/A | 53 | 136 | 251 | 208 | 194 | 232 | 144 |
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 2 September 2026 to question 19555 on Shipping: Russia, how many of the 91 unique vessels were found to have had (a) invalid and (b) insufficient insurance following challenge through the Voluntary Insurance Reporting Mechanism.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 2 September 2026 to question 19555 on Shipping: Russia, how many of the 91 unique vessels were found to have had (a) invalid and (b) insufficient insurance following challenge through the Voluntary Insurance Reporting Mechanism.
We are unable to provide a further breakdown on the vessels that have been challenged by the Voluntary Insurance Reporting Mechanism as this information could compromise the effectiveness of the mechanism, only benefitting our adversaries.
The Met Office provides the Home Office with a daily assessment of the likelihood of at least one small boat crossing attempt which translates into Red, Amber and Green days. This assessment takes multiple factors into account - further detail on the methodology can be found in the previous Home...
The Met Office provides the Home Office with a daily assessment of the likelihood of at least one small boat crossing attempt which translates into Red, Amber and Green days. This assessment takes multiple factors into account - further detail on the methodology can be found in the previous Home...
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many “Red” days there have been each month since April 2025.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many “Red” days there have been each month since April 2025.
The Met Office provides the Home Office with a daily assessment of the likelihood of at least one small boat crossing attempt which translates into Red, Amber and Green days. This assessment takes multiple factors into account - further detail on the methodology can be found in the previous Home Office publication at www.gov.uk/government/statistics/small-boat-arrivals-and-the-impact-of-crossing-conditions/small-boat-arrivals-and-the-impact-of-crossing-conditions.
The Home Office began receiving the Met Office assessment from September 2019, as such some of the data requested is unavailable. Available data on the number of red days is provided below up to 31 August 2026 – while this goes beyond the periods requested, it is provided in one place for completeness. This data shows that there have been more favourable crossing conditions so far this year than the same period in almost any year since 2020. Red days this year have already exceeded the 106 recorded in the whole of 2022, which saw a record 45,000 migrants arrive in small boats.
To provide additional context to the request, the average number of arrivals per red day per year (to date) has also been provided. This demonstrates a notable reduction in the average number of arrivals per red day in 2026 (to 31 August). The average number of migrants arriving on red days between January and August has fallen by 38% from 232 to 144 over the past year. This represents a 43% drop from the peak of 251 in 2022.
Table 1. Number of red days per month – September 2019 to August 2026
| Red Days | |||||||
2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
Jan | - | 8 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 17 | 6 |
Feb | - | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 5 |
Mar | - | 1 | 9 | 11 | 3 | 9 | 19 | 18 |
Apr | - | 11 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 16 | 14 |
May | - | 12 | 6 | 16 | 13 | 21 | 13 | 20 |
Jun | - | 11 | 18 | 11 | 16 | 20 | 16 | 16 |
Jul | - | 14 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 18 | 22 | 15 |
Aug | - | 14 | 7 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 16 |
Sep | 3 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 13 | 9 | - |
Oct | 5 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 19 | 11 | - |
Nov | 2 | 13 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 8 | - |
Dec | 5 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 5 | - |
Table 2. Average number of small boat arrivals per red day per year to date (1 Jan - 31 Aug)
YTD 2019 | YTD 2020 | YTD 2021 | YTD 2022 | YTD 2023 | YTD 2024 | YTD 2025 | YTD 2026 | |
Total | N/A | 53 | 136 | 251 | 208 | 194 | 232 | 144 |