asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will set out the timetable for the incorporation of “authority to carry” within the United Kingdom's e-Borders programme; and when they expect full implementation of such a system. [HL3585]

The “authority to carry” capability will be available over a phased period from October 2008, with a manual response process to inform carriers. A fully automated response to carriers is a future service under the e-Borders contract.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will set out a timetable for the incorporation of “other passenger information” (OPI) data within the United Kingdom's e-Borders programme; and when they expect full use of OPI data within United Kingdom border checks. [HL3586]

The e-Borders system already collects and uses a small sample of OPI which it has used to de-risk the main programme. From summer 2009 the e-Borders solution will begin the incremental capture of other passenger information (OPI), and by the end of December 2013 will be processing 100 million targeted/selected OPI passenger movements.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What consultations they have had with the Governments of Australia and New Zealand with regard to the technologies they have employed to operate their authority to carry schemes for the past 10 years; and whether and when this technology will be employed within the United Kingdom's e-Borders programme. [HL3587]

Heads of Border Operations within the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States sit on a five-country steering group. The group is committed to strengthening links between the participating countries and has held discussions on the various “authority to carry” schemes.

The “authority to carry” capability will be available from October 2008, with a manual response process to inform carriers. A fully automated response to carriers is a future service under the e-Borders contract.