Written statement to Parliament

The Border Force: Theresa May's statement to the Commons

This written ministerial statement was laid in the House of Commons on 1 March 2012 by Theresa May and in the House of Lords by Lord Henley.

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government
The Rt Hon Theresa May MP

This written ministerial statement was laid in the House of Commons on 1 March 2012 by Theresa May and in the House of Lords by Lord Henley.

From today, the Border Force has been split from the UK Border Agency to become a separate operational command within the Home Office. We will finalise the detail of the operational and structural arrangements over the coming weeks, but I would like to inform the House of the high level arrangements that we have put in place.

Brian Moore, Chief Constable of Wiltshire police, has taken up post as the interim Head of the Border Force and with the agreement of HM Treasury I have designated him as the Director of Border Revenue under section 6 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009. Rob Whiteman will remain Chief Executive of the UK Border Agency. The Border Force will be responsible for entry controls and customs functions at the border, including our juxtaposed controls in France and Belgium. The UK Border Agency will be responsible for immigration casework, in-country enforcement activity, the immigration detention estate and our overseas immigration operations.

All obligations, commitments and undertakings given by the UK Border Agency will continue to be honoured by the Border Force where they relate to operations at the border. Relevant agreements, guidance and documentation will be amended in due course but for the time being should be read, where appropriate, as applying to the Border Force as well as the UK Border Agency.

John Vine, the Independent Chief Inspector of the UK Border Agency, will be responsible for the inspection of both the UK Border Agency and the Border Force.

Date: Thu Mar 01 11:54:59 GMT 2012

Published 1 March 2012