asked Her Majesty's Government:

What were the Government's estimates for the total cost of the e-borders programme when the project received initial ministerial approval; and what they are now. [HL4139]

The strategic benefits endorsed by David Blunkett in the White Paper Secure Borders, Safe Haven in February 2002 led to the formation of the e-borders programme. Initial estimates in November 2003 of the costs for this were £959 million, with possible further contingency costs to a maximum of £1.336 billion, which included both capital and resource costings. Current forecasts for the total cost of the e-borders programme are £1.2 billion.