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UKBA vows to take a 'hard Line' on stowaway offences

9th April 2009, Page 12
9th April 2009
Page 12
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Page 12, 9th April 2009 — UKBA vows to take a 'hard Line' on stowaway offences
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Industry skills shortage may follow recession

By Joanna Buul THE UK BORDER Agency (UKBA) has warned it will take a hard line on drivers and firms failing to take measures to prevent stowaways boarding their vehicles.

In 2008. the UKBA collected more than £1.5m in penalties from drivers and hauliers for the carriage of clandestine entrants, where the firm did not have an effective system in place or drivers did not abide by prevention rules.

The total fines were more than three times higher than the £490,000 collected in 2003 and 10% higher than the £1,358,000 received in 2007 "We also imposed penalties in over 1,700 cases in 2008 on lorry drivers and haulage companies for trying to smuggle illegal immigrants into the UK. This total is likely to increase as other penalties issued last year are still being processed," a UKBA spokesman adds.

Brodie Clark, head of the border force, says drivers need to be vigilant as most illegal attempts to board a lorry occur through Calais,Dunkirk and rest stops in Belgium.

Vehicle owners, employers or drivers can be liable for a combined £4,000 fine per stowaway if it is proven they had not taken adequate steps to protect the vehicle.

"While we will be fair to those who are taking the appropriate precautions to secure their vehicles, we will harden the environment.

through increased refusals, prosecutions and vehicle seizures, for those drivers and operators who are negligent and complicit," warns Clark.

The Freight Transport Association's head of international service, Don Armour, says: "People trafficking is a despicable crime and if the lorry driver in question has a history of having been stopped for such offences then by all means the authorities should deal with them in the severest of terms."

Tips offered by the UKBA include: securing vehicles immediately after loading using a padlock and tilt cord; recording checks on a vehicle security checklist; and providing written instructions on how to avoid clandestine entry. A HUGE INCREASE in the number of drivers claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) could result in an industry-wide skills shortage once the recessions ends, according to the Freight Transport Association (FTA).

Latest figures from the Office of National Statistics show that almost 9,000 HGV drivers are getting ISA, 236% up on 2007 The number of transport and distribution managers claiming the allowance has also increased, by 114% to almost 1,200, and storage and warehouse managers by 77% to 2,370.

In addition, almost 48,000 van drivers are applying for JSA, an increase of 60% on 2007.

The FTA has warned that the recent rise in fuel duty will push many more businesses to the wall, resulting in a deluge of insolvencies this year.

A spokeswoman says: "What we are concerned about is that the longer the recession goes on, the more likely it is that those skills will be lost to the industry. We could well find ourselves with a skills shortage post-recession, which could hurt those businesses that have managed to survive and are picking themselves up again."


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