How does the UK and France prevent small boat crossings?published at 14:57 British Summer Time
14:57 BST
Rob England
BBC Verify senior data journalist
The UK government’s new agreement to return some small boat arrivals to France comes into effect from tomorrow.
Ministers say the scheme is aimed at disrupting the business model of people smugglers. It will see some migrants who cross the Channel in small boats returned to France.
For every person returned, the UK has agreed to accept someone from France through a new legal asylum route, as long as they haven’t previously tried to cross illegally.
This is one of several measures being used by the British government to try to reduce crossings.
Another approach is to stop small boats from leaving France altogether. According to official figures, there have been at least 15,369 instances this year where people were either prevented from boarding boats by French authorities, or the vessels were returned after launch.
In recent months, a gap has emerged between the number of preventions and successful crossings. In July, there were more than 5,000 arrivals in the UK – compared with about 3,000 preventions.
At present, French authorities can only intervene on land or if there is a clear threat to life at sea. France is now considering legislation that would allow police to intervene with boats already in the water.