Britain and France 'united' on small boats, Downing Street insists as deal set to expire
The £500million agreement between the two countries is due to run out at the end of March
Britain and France are "united" in their aim to stop small boat crossings, Downing Street has insisted as the Government seeks to renew a migration deal with France set to expire next week.
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Britain and France are "united" in their aim to stop small boat crossings, Downing Street has insisted as the Government seeks to renew a migration deal with France set to expire next week.
No 10 said the UK was looking to ensure "long-term value for money" as part of any new agreement with Paris after the existing near £500 million arrangement runs out at the end of March.
When it was announced in 2023, the previous Tory government said the £478 million package would fund a new detention centre in France and hundreds of extra law enforcement officers on French shores.
Read More: French authorities rescue 78 migrants attempting small boat Channel crossing
Crossings in the Channel have risen in the following years, with some 41,472 people arriving in the UK by small boat in 2025 and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood under pressure to help bring numbers down.
Ms Mahmood is understood to be pushing for the new arrangement to include performance-related clauses that would link funding to the proportion of boats intercepted by the French, as first reported by the Times.
The Sun reported a Home Office delegation is being sent to Paris this week to negotiate the renewal.
Downing Street refused to be drawn on how much money the Government was prepared to hand France for a fresh deal when questioned by reporters on Monday.
Asked whether Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer wanted to see the existing deal improved, his spokesman said: "We always want to improve where we can improve our abilities to prevent small boat crossings.
"I won't get ahead of negotiations but we are looking at how we can build flexibility and innovation into any deal with the French to ensure that there is long-term value for money and a real impact on small boat crossings that builds on the 40,000 crossing attempts that have been prevented since this Government came into office."
Asked whether the existing deal had provided value for money, he said the preventions were "a testament to the work our teams have been undertaking with French teams."
"We are united in wanting to stop small boat crossings, which put lives at risk," the official added.
So far this year, some 4,169 people have arrived in the UK on small boats, according to official figures, including 190 people in two vessels on Sunday.
Pictures showed people being brought ashore in Dover, Kent, from a Border Force vessel following a small boat incident in the Channel on Monday.