Additional
information on the civil penalty. This is important information
for all truck and haulage operators. This information is supplied
from the Home Office web site. For further information visit The
Home Office
Civil Penalty: One year on
[03 April 2001]
CIVIL PENALTY: ONE YEAR ON
A year after their introduction, the £2000 fines for hauliers and
others caught bringing illegal immigrants into the United Kingdom
have led to significant improvements in cross-Channel security,
the Home Secretary Jack Straw said today.
Pressure from hauliers facing fines has led to the introduction
of voluntary CO2 checks and better protected rest areas at Calais;
the introduction of checks by P&O Stena Line for their customers;
and the measures now being taken to improve security at Coquelles,
the immigration control before people board Le Shuttle.
Since April 3rd 2000, drivers, hirers and renters of
vehicles caught bringing illegal entrants into the UK are liable,
under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, to the imposition of
a civil penalty of £2000 per entrant. Up to the 31st
March this year, 837 penalties had been imposed in respect of 4666
clandestine entrants.
Mr Straw said:
"The purpose of the civil penalty is to encourage hauliers
and others to improve security. It has done so. Drivers are
taking better precautions to prevent their vehicles being used
to smuggle people into the country. In the three months prior
to implementation of the civil penalty last year, the Immigration
Service at Dover dealt with 3908 clandestine entrants compared
to 2271 in January to March of this year.
"In addition, pressure from hauliers and others facing the
prospect of a civil penalty has been influential in bringing
about improvements in cross-Channel security and the introduction
of checks by P&O Stena Line for their customers.
"The P&O Stena Line checks, introduced in December, led
to a reduction of nearly 40% in clandestine entrants and undocumented
passengers arriving in the 12-week period before and after the
checks began.
"We recently extended the penalty to rail freight and have
discussed the need to improve security with the companies concerned.
"The Government is reforming the asylum system to ensure that
it provides safety to those fleeing persecution but deters those
who make unfounded claims.
"Already, we are seeing results. As well as the success of
the civil penalty, the backlog of decisions is now at its lowest
for seven years, and the number of failed asylum seekers returned
is at a record high."
This
information is supplied from the Home Office web site. For further
information visit The Home
Office
