(2) how much the Metropolitan Police’s Security Command spent on border security and enforcement in each of the last three financial years;
(3) what estimate her Department has made of the amount spent by Ports Police on border security and enforcement in each of the last three financial years.
This information is not held centrally in the form requested. In general the Government allocate funding to police force areas as a whole rather than to specific locations or functions. The actual deployment of police officers at ports and their costs is an operational matter for individual Chief Officers. In the case of London, the Counter Terrorism Command is responsible for the policing of the border within the Metropolitan police force area (especially Heathrow and London City airports).
Airport operators reimburse police authorities for the costs of uniformed police officers at airports designated under section 25 of the Aviation Security Act, such as Heathrow. At other ports, such as London City airport, police officers are funded wholly or partly by the police authority, or by other means, including voluntary contributions by airport operators. These amounts are determined locally.
Additional funding for Special Branch officers at ports is provided by the Home Office through Dedicated Security Post (DSP) grants which go towards the police costs of specific security functions. The grants paid to police forces towards the costs of funding their Special Branch officers at ports in financial years 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 were £70.6 million £71.4 million and £72.6 million respectively.