Quarantine for UK arrivals

Quarantining health measures for UK arrivals

Detailing the measures introduced to quarantine arrivals in the UK, and the impact of those measures on Border Force and Immigration Enforcement

Background

On 8 June the UK introduced quarantine measures for most arrivals in the UK. These measures apply to arrivals by air and by sea, and to clandestine arrivals as well. As a result these measures impact directly upon staff in both Border Force (BF) and Immigration Enforcement (IE). Although the measures were meant to be in place from first thing on Monday 8 June consultation with PCS on detailed and final proposals was sadly lacking, and we did not have sight of any finalised proposals until after close of play on Friday 5 June.

Border Force

Measures in Place

• Implementation across the country varied greatly. Some regions closed all their e-gates and attempted 100% coverage of all arriving passengers, whilst some left their e-gates open and did spot-checks
• Arriving passengers (apart from a long list of exemptions) were required to have filled in an electronic form detailing arrival details, personal details, and a UK address.
• If passengers had not filled in the form on arrival then Border Force Officers armed with Samsung tablets would encourage them to complete the form.
• If passengers refused to complete the form or to provide details of addresses then Border Force Officers had the conferred power to enforce a Fixed Penalty Notice, or even in extremis to Refuse Leave to Enter
• The passenger would be required to self-isolate for 14 days at the address given on the form
• If the arriving passenger had no UK address then the Government provided a self-isolation facility

Impact on Staff

• Due to the varied implementation of the measures across the country the results were also varied. With some consistency in some areas…
• The Samsung tablets kept crashing or kicking users out of the COP
• The form did not exist in any language other than English, meaning that completing the Forms was often extremely resource intensive
• Many passengers arrived with Reference numbers from completed forms, but had not saved the completed form, and with no way of accessing the completed form the passengers had to be returned to complete another form
• In many areas these measures resulted in large queues and a threat to social distancing for both passengers and for staff
• For work areas with already reduced staffing levels, the increased workload these measures produced had a very direct impact on staff on duty, and they were often stretched to their limit
• The first day will have been a very sharp learning curve and we understand that many practical measures are being put in place as a result. Only time will tell how effective these are at addressing the initial problems faced.

Immigration Enforcement

Measures in Place

• Clandestine entrants would be isolated at their pre-arranged accommodation, asylum accommodation or at a Government provided self-isolation facility. Non-symptomatic and destitute asylum cases would be routed to appropriate accommodation in accordance with ‘business as usual’ processes.
• All non-asylum destitute clandestine arrivals would go into a government provided self-isolation quarantine facility.
• Non-asylum clandestine arrivals can self-isolate with friends/family at pre-arranged accommodation if they have a UK address
• High-harm offenders would be assessed in the usual manner, and appropriate accommodation obtained through the detention gate keeper. The detaining officer would have to complete the electronic declaration on arrival, stating the self-isolation address is at a place of detention.
• For non-asylum cases, the electronic declaration form would be first completed by National Command & Control Unit but may be delegated to an ICE officer if further Immigration Enforcement action is required. In which case the Immigration Officer in charge of the case must complete the from once accommodation is known.
• For clandestine arrivals by small boat IE have trained medical technicians available to assist IE staff, but if an officer thinks (by asking them, being told or from observations etc) that they may have any of the symptoms, they will proceed as ‘symptomatic’. A private ambulance would be available to transport symptomatic arrivals
• 100% of all after-entry clandestine arrivals are subject to these measures.

Impact on Staff

• Only one of the questions asked on the Form applies to clandestine arrivals, and that relates to the address / place of isolation.
• Immigration Enforcement has no ability to serve a Fixed Penalty Notice, and obviously has no power to Refuse Leave to Enter, so in-country this is largely a paper exercise.
• As a result we are told that there should be relatively little impact on IE staff, other than yet another layer of bureaucracy being imposed. So far, we have received no adverse reaction to these measures from within IE.

PCS Concerns

Anything that compromises the health, safety and well-being of staff is of concern to PCS, and in many areas on the border staff were completely unable to social distance. Furthermore, the decision to close the e-gates meant that in many areas where up to 80% or more of the travelling public normally go through the gates, this alone produced an increase in workload. The failure of IT, and the lack of preparation time meant that systems implemented at the last minute often failed to work or were unable to deal with the practicalities of the situation. Whilst thankfully these measures seem to so far to have had little impact on IE, of concern is that these measures were brought in at such a rush with so little planning, and so little ability to flexibly deal with the resultant impact on staff. We will be seeking to ensure that in all future dealings appropriate consultation is provided to PCS, and that all due consideration is given to staffing numbers and welfare.

If members have any feedback on how matters have progressed since day one, and how the quarantining affects your work on a daily basis then please contact click here to contact representatives.

Kevin Mills (Assistant Group Secretary Border Force Lead). Stephen Taylor (Assistant Group Secretary Immigration Enforcement Lead)