Part 3: Immigration Offences and Enforcement Immigration Offences and Penalties Section 42: Penalty for failure to secure goods vehicle
Overview: This section extends the scope of the civil penalties regime for clandestine entrants to create a new civil penalty that may be issued on persons responsible for goods vehicles that have not been adequately secured, whether or not there is a clandestine present in the vehicle. It also makes amendments to the current regime by requiring those operating vehicles to take measures to secure their vehicles against unauthorised access by clandestine entrants.
	Background: Part 2 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 ("the 1999 Act") created a civil penalty regime for those responsible for allowing clandestine entrants into the UK. While these provisions have been in place in various forms for over 20 years, a high proportion of drivers and hauliers still fail to properly secure their vehicles, thereby enabling clandestines to enter the UK illegally within these vehicles. In a compliance sampling exercise carried out in March 2021, more than a third of vehicles were found not to have basic security measures in place. When considering how this differs between hard-sided and soft-sided vehicles, 55% of soft-sided vehicles lacked basic security measures.19
	Until now, the focus of the penalty regime has been on the presence of clandestines.
	The intention is to create an alternative basis for civil liability to apply in the case of goods vehicles. Accordingly, persons responsible for goods vehicles that have not been adequately secured against unauthorised access, and where that person has not taken the actions specified in regulations in relation to the securing of the vehicle against unauthorised access before or during its journey, can receive a civil penalty, regardless of whether a clandestine is present.
	The intent is to require drivers and hauliers to check the security of their goods vehicles during or prior to arrival in the UK or presentation at UK immigration control and to alert the relevant authorities (i.e. police in the country concerned) as soon as clandestine entrants are suspected to have entered a vehicle, and not when that driver reaches immigration controls. Drivers will be required to keep and produce documentation when presenting at UK immigration controls, or upon arrival in the UK, to establish that actions have been taken in relation to securing the vehicle against unauthorised access. This will include keeping evidence that ongoing checks have been carried out to identify signs of clandestine entry and to prevent unauthorised entry.
	The current regime is underpinned by the two statutory codes of practice specified in sections 32A and 33 of the 1999 Act. The Department will retain the requirement for the Secretary of State to issue a Level of Penalty Code of Practice at section 32A, which specifies matters to be considered by the Secretary of State when determining the level of penalty payable for both the existing and new regime. A code of practice will be brought into operation following a public consultation of such persons as the Secretary of State considers appropriate. The Secretary of State will have the option to issue a single Code of Practice or a separate one for each regime. The Prevention of Clandestine Entrant: Code of Practice specified in section 33 will be removed and replaced with regulations specifying what is required of responsible persons to secure their vehicle and the actions required to secure the vehicle against unauthorised access. Regulations will be laid following a public consultation.
	This section provides for the amendment of the 1999 Act to provide for the imposition of a penalty for a failure to adequately to secure a goods vehicle against unauthorised access and other related matters.