The Home Office has had to procure private boats at the cost of £36m a year to help Border Force patrol the Channel for small boats, owing to a delay in plans to replace the current fleet.
Replacing the fleet of five cutters and six coastal patrol vessels, some of which are 20 years old, will now not begin until March 2026, four years later than planned.
As a result of the delay, first reported by the Times, the Home Office has resorted to paying for boats from the private sector.
A “procurement pipeline” document published on the department’s website shows that it has tendered a contract for “charter of vessel(s) to support small boats operations in the Dover Straits”.
The contract is due to run from 1 April this year until 31 March 2025, but the service provider is listed as “not set”.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “All commercial contracts are in line with government procurement rules which are designed to ensure the best value for taxpayers. We closely monitor contractor performance, including financial results.”
Rishi Sunak unveiled plans to replace Border Force vessels in 2021 when he was chancellor, promising new cutters to improve the safety of Britain’s borders. He said the current fleet would be retired and that 11 new vessels would come into service.
In a Treasury statement at the time, Sunak said: “Protecting our borders and making it easier for us all to travel to and from our great nation is at the heart of our ambitions as a government.”
The delays in procuring new vessels could damage Border Force’s ability to monitor the Channel and to rescue asylum seekers crossing from France in small boats who get into trouble.
