Are more small boats being stopped by French police?

Health Secretary Steve Barclay has defended the government's advancement successful stopping tiny boats crossing the English Channel.

He told BBC Breakfast the authorities was moving constructively with the French authorities and claimed: "there's been 40% much boats stopped by the French authorities this twelvemonth than past year".

But that's not close according to presently disposable figures.

The UK and French governments person not yet published figures for the numbers of tiny boats stopped this year.

The Department of Health and Social Care told BBC Verify that Mr Barclay had really been referring to Home Office figures comparing 2022 with 2021 and "misspoke connected the year".

The Home Office published those figures successful January 2023 and said that the French authorities prevented 33,000 crossings successful 2022, which was an summation of much than 40% connected the fig of crossings prevented successful 2021.

But the authorities told america that this information refers to idiosyncratic radical prevented from crossing the Channel, not boats arsenic Mr Barclay stated.

The Home Office besides confirmed to america that the French authorities intercepted 1,381 boats successful 2022. We person asked for comparable figures for 2021, but person not yet seen them.

While the fig of interceptions accrued betwixt 2021 and 2022, the proportionality of radical stopped from crossing fell slightly: 43% of radical who attempted to transverse the Channel successful tiny boats were stopped successful 2022, compared with astir 50% the twelvemonth before, according to a Home Office official's grounds to MPs.

The 2 countries person being moving unneurotic to tackle amerciable migration for years.

The UK has signed 8 agreements with France since 2014.

On 14 November 2022, an statement accrued the fig of patrol officers successful bluish France by 40%.

The caller statement linked specializer officers from the UK and France to amended quality sharing.

Critics of the agreement, specified arsenic Conservative MP Tim Loughton, said it didn't spell acold enough.

The borderline information agreements with France person outgo astir £232m, according to the House of Commons Library:

A further £87m has been paid to France since 2014 for borderline power purposes, according to the aforesaid briefing paper.

The UK committed to different £476m of backing successful France betwixt 2023 and 2026, successful a associated UK-France declaration connected addressing amerciable migration.

All of these figures are successful currency presumption and person not been adjusted for inflation.