Immigration (Leave to Enter and Remain) (Amendment) Order 2026

The change in this SI before us does not amend the list; it simply lowers the age from 10 to eight. I am, however, continuing to look with colleagues at options for further expansion of eligibility, including to the other five British nationalities who are currently unable to use e-gates, and I intend to bring forward further information in the coming months.

May I also say a word about safeguarding at this juncture? I reassure the Committee that robust safeguarding protections will remain in place at the border. First, and in line with current policy and operating procedures, only accompanied children between the ages of eight and 18 will be able to use e-gates. Any unaccompanied child or child below the age of eight will still be required to see a Border Force officer in the usual way. Secondly, we are going to update and reissue our guidance to officers and airport hosts to encourage adults travelling alone with children to use the e-gates first. The reason for this is to keep the child airside and in the care of Border Force should they encounter any difficulties using e-gates. By maintaining this approach, we can facilitate much quicker referrals and ensure that children are reunited with family groups in an efficient, safe and controlled manner.

Our greatest safeguard, of course, is the continued deployment of the highly skilled Border Force officers, to whom I pay eternal tribute. They will continue to be a visible presence at all ports with e-gates, and they will continue to monitor the use of the gates themselves, observing passengers to identify any cause for concern and, indeed, taking action to protect any vulnerable person and the UK border as a whole.

I also acknowledge that there may be concerns regarding the ever-increasing dependency on automation deployed at our border. I hope I can reassure the Committee that all border technology is rigorously tested, and there are robust business continuity arrangements in place in the Home Office and Border Force to deal with any system outage that may occur.

I believe this order makes a simple and minor change to existing legislation and border policy arrangements and enables us to consider progress towards delivering a future border model. This model will use technology to keep the UK safe, improve passenger flow for legitimate travellers and better target Border Force interventions at those who seek to do harm to our country or to individuals entering it.

Finally, in the event of both Houses of Parliament agreeing this change, the Government hope to implement the change to e-gate eligibility from 8 July. I beg to move.

The second question relates to a single adult with a child, and the single adult being either requested or told to go through first. I would be loath to leave an eight year-old child behind two sets of sliding doors. I have seen what happens, often, with 10 year-olds who have been in front of me in the queue: they do not necessarily do what they are supposed to do, which is put your feet on the marks and look at the camera. Usually, the parent will then lean over the gate and shout at them and say, “Put your feet on that; stand up straight; look at the camera”, as parents would want to do with their children.

We encourage single adults travelling with children to enter the eGate first. That means that, should they or a child in the travelling group encounter any difficulties using the eGate, they will remain within the protection area of Border Force officials who can assist them. Where there are multiple parents—we have all done this in the past with our own children—one will perhaps go through first and see the children through, and the other will hold up the rear to see what is happening. My kids are now 38, 37, 36 and 23, and they are quite happily doing it themselves. Like the noble Lord, Lord German, I might on occasion have to take a grandchild through an eGate—three of them are seven, four and two years old and the youngest is five months old. None of them currently qualify, but they have got into Hansard, so that will be impressive in the future, if nothing else.

There are protections in place. The safety and security of the border is important. As I have set out, Border Force officers will continue to play a crucial role in supporting family groups and children crossing the UK border. I must say that we are not alone in undertaking this type of activity. A number of countries use similar procedures; for example, Australia and Singapore now allow seven year-olds and six year-olds, respectively, to use their versions of these gates.

It is important that we safeguard. Valid points have been made, but on behalf of the Government I am giving an assurance that trained staff are there and that, ultimately, the human element of this process is still present. I hope the process will allow speedier access and entry into the United Kingdom. I hope that I have answered the points that have been raised by noble Lords, and I commend the order to the Grand Committee.