Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will take steps to ensure that it is aware of the criminal histories of all people admitted into the UK.

James Brokenshire

The UK has detailed arrangements in place to identify people of concern seeking to enter the country. All passengers are checked against police, security and immigration watchlists and where we are aware of individuals who pose a risk, Border Force officers can – and do – refuse them entry.

The onus for flagging a threat lies with the authorities in their home country and the UK is leading the way in Europe on improving the exchange of information in cases involving dangerous criminals. In April the UK connected to the second generation Schengen Information System (SISII), this provides us with real time information about all those individuals wanted under a European Arrest Warrant so that they can be stopped at the border.

Since 2010, checks on foreign nationals going through the UK criminal justice system have increased by more than 1,500 per cent, helping ensure more foreign criminals are taken off our streets and making our communities safer.

In September, we introduced a new requirement for Tier 1 investor and entrepreneur applicants to supply an overseas criminal record certificate covering the last 10 years as part of their application.