Dear Home Office,

This is a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act.

I am a frequent traveller through Manchester Airport's Terminals One and Three. In the Immigration Halls of both terminals Border Force operate manned desks for non-EU citizens and EU citizens as well as their being a number of "E-Passport" gates for EU citizens over the age of 12 holding Biometric Passports.

Manchester Airport staff routinely deny access to the manned EU desks to all travellers EXCEPT those with children under 12 and those holding EU ID cards (which are not compatible with the E-Passport gates), instead forcing them to use the E-Passport Gates. This results in situations - that I have witnessed first hand - where a lengthy queue for the E-Gates has formed whilst a number of Border Force staff sit unoccupied on the manned desks and no passengers are allowed to access them.

When I have asked for clarification from Manchester Airport staff (NOT Border Force) I am told that this is a Border Force policy.

Can you please therefore release the relevant Border Force operational policy document(s) under the FOI Act that require the operators of Ports of Entry to enforce such a procedure.

Many thanks in advance for your time and assistance.

Yours faithfully,

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST

Thank you for your e-mail of 28 March, in which you ask for disclosure of the policy on E-
Gate usage. Your request has been handled as a request for information under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000.

I can confirm that Border Force holds the information that you have requested. However,
after careful consideration we have decided that the information is exempt from disclosure
under section[ 31(1)(e) of the Freedom of Information Act. This provide that information
can be withheld where disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice the operation of the
immigration controls and the public interest falls in favour of maintaining the exemptions.

Arguments for and against disclosure in terms of the public interest, with the reasons for
our conclusion, are set out in the attached Annex.

If you are dissatisfied with this response you may request an independent internal review
of our handling of your request by submitting a complaint within two months to the address
below, quoting reference 43357. If you ask for an internal review, it would be helpful if
you could say why you are dissatisfied with the response.

Information Rights Team
Home Office
Third Floor, Peel Building
2 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DF
e-mail: [email address]




Border Force is an operational command of the Home Office
As part of any internal review the Department's handling of your information request will be
reassessed by staff who were not involved in providing you with this response. If you
remain dissatisfied after this internal review, you would have a right of complaint to the
Information Commissioner as established by section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act.

Yours sincerely




H Reid
Border Force – Information Rights Team






















Annex

Freedom of Information request from Mr Harrison (reference 43357)

Information requested:-


In the Immigration Halls of both terminals Border Force operate manned desks for
non-EU citizens and EU citizens as well as their being a number of "E-Passport"
gates for EU citizens over the age of 12 holding Biometric Passports.

Manchester Airport staff routinely deny access to the manned EU desks to all
travellers EXCEPT those with children under 12 and those holding EU ID cards
(which are not compatible with the E-Passport gates), instead forcing them to use
the E-Passport Gates. This results in situations - that I have witnessed first hand -
where a lengthy queue for the E-Gates has formed whilst a number of Border Force
staff sit unoccupied on the manned desks and no passengers are allowed to access
them.

When I have asked for clarification from Manchester Airport staff (NOT Border
Force) I am told that this is a Border Force policy.

Can you please therefore release the relevant Border Force operational policy
document(s) under the FOI Act that require the operators of Ports of Entry to
enforce such a procedure.

Response :-

Public interest test in relation to sections 31(1)(a)&(e)

Some of the exemptions in the FOI Act, referred to as ‘qualified exemptions’, are subject to
a public interest test (PIT). This test is used to balance the public interest in disclosure
against the public interest in maintaining the exemption. We must carry out a PIT where
we are considering using any of the qualified exemptions in response to a request for
information.

The ‘public interest’ is not the same as what interests the public. In carrying out a PIT we
consider the greater good or benefit to the community as a whole if the information is
released or not. Transparency and the ‘right to know’ must be balanced against the need
to enable effective government and to serve the best interests of the public.

The FOI Act is ‘applicant blind’. This means that we cannot, and do not, ask about the
motives of anyone who asks for information. In providing a response to one person, we
are expressing a willingness to provide the same response to anyone, including those who
might represent a threat to the UK.

Considerations in favour of disclosing the information

The Home Office recognises that there is a general public interest in openness and
transparency in all aspects of government. The release of information would help raise
public awareness and aid the debate about the provisions in place to enhance the
experience of the travelling public. There is also a public interest in ensuring confidence in
the United Kingdom’s methods of border control. This would help build greater public
confidence in the operational procedures in place at our UK ports.

Considerations in favour maintaining the exemption

In this case Border Force has determined that providing the E-~Gate Policy document
would provide potential criminals with details of our operational strategy and intelligence
gathering processes deployed at UK airports. This would provide useful information,
especially to organised criminals, on the strategy used to safeguard our UK borders and
thereby encourage attempts to circumvent UK immigration and customs controls.

There is clearly a strong public interest in doing everything we can to detect and prevent
crime and protect the public at large. Disclosing the requested information would not be in
the public interest as it could impact on the abilities of the police and Border Force to
protect the UK borders and ensure the lawful operation of the immigration controls.

We conclude that the balance of the public interest lies in maintaining the exemption and
withholding the information, ensuring that Border Force is allowed to effectively secure
control at our borders.

Border Force and Manchester Airport Group have invested significantly to improve the
passenger arrival experience. One of these improvements has been the introduction of
new generation e-gates at Terminal 1 in December 2014, at Terminal 2 in June 2014 and
at Terminal 3 in March 2015. Terminal 1 also had 5 additional e-gates installed in the
summer, taking the total to 10 in that terminal. The e-gates also undergo regular updates
to ensure they remain as quick and effective as possible.

Airport passengers across the world are required to adhere to the processes in place to
pass through their border controls. Manchester directs all eligible passengers through the
e-gates whenever possible. This is to ensure the integrity of the border and to enable staff
to focus on those passengers who are not eligible to use the gates or require additional
checks.