Lindsay Whittle, the leader of Caerphilly County Borough Council and Plaid Cymru Welsh Assembly candidate, has warned cuts in UK Border Agency staff could leave Wales open to more drug smuggling and increase the threat of terrorism.
Councillor Whittle, leader of the ruling Plaid Cymru group on the council and a South Wales East regional candidate in next year’s Assembly elections, spoke out after it was revealed that the Border Agency is reducing its staff by 5,200 by 2015.
In a letter to the Local Government Association, Matthew Coats, Head of Immigration at the Border Agency, said that its budget was being reduced by over 20% in the next four years which will mean “tough choices on expenditure affecting all parts of the agency. The agency will make greater use of technology to focus efforts on the greatest risks and improve productivity.”
He said that 5,200 jobs would go but claimed the Border Agency would be more efficient.
Cllrr Whittle said: “There are plenty of warm words from the agency about becoming a more efficient organisation but I fail to see how cutting 5,200 is going to give us better security from the many threats to the UK.
“Are we really going to be safer under the ConDem Government from any threats by terrorists? I have my doubts.
“And in Wales it seems to me that we will be more vulnerable to smuggling, whether it is counterfeit goods, alcohol and cigarettes or even more worryingly drugs. There’s also the question of investigating issues like illegal immigrants working in the UK. Will that scrutiny still be possible?
“Cutting the numbers of staff is surely going to have an impact at our ports and at Cardiff Airport. Will there be the checks on people coming in? I can’t see how this will be possible.”
The UK Border Agency has confirmed the budget cuts in light of the Government’s spending review.
An official statement on its website reads: “The agency will be smaller but more efficient, and will balance funding from the taxpayer with income from fees for migrants and visitors to the UK.
“While meeting our international obligations, we will drive down the cost of asylum support and make greater use of technology, focusing efforts on the greatest risks and improving productivity.
“Securing the border and controlling migration will remain the UK Border Agency’s priorities, following the announcement today of the government’s Spending Review.”