UK Scraps ‘One In, One Out’ Small Boats Deal

A UK-French pilot scheme designed to curb small boat crossings across the Channel has been scrapped, the Home Office has said. The so-called “one in, one out” arrangement, introduced as a way to reduce the number of people travelling to the UK after crossing from France, will no longer accept new cases, according to a statement made on Wednesday.

Pilot Scheme No Longer Processes New Cases

Under the programme, people who arrived in the UK after making the Channel crossing could be detained and sent back to France. This would then be matched by transferring an equivalent number of asylum seekers to the UK from France through a safe and legal route.

The Home Office said the deal is “no longer processing new cases”. It added that work continues with France “to relentlessly tackle small boat crossings”, and said it had “made real progress”.

Numbers Returned And Transferred

The Home Office said that, during the scheme, around 1,500 individuals were returned to France and a similar number of asylum seekers were transferred to the UK.

The initiative was set up to run for three years, but included a clause allowing the parties to end it earlier.

The Home Office said deportation flights would continue in the coming weeks for people who have already been detained under the scheme.

Decision Follows Reduced Crossings

The discontinuation comes after a sharp fall in crossings during 2026, which the Home Office linked to reasons including increased police patrols and enhanced surveillance in northern France.

It said roughly 19,000 people have crossed the Channel this year, a 40% drop compared with the same point in 2025. That year-on-year decrease has contributed to the scheme being ended despite its original timetable.

The scale of the continued danger was highlighted on Monday, when a 10-year-old child and two women died, apparently trampled to death on a boat carrying more than 100 people.

After Brexit, Renewed Agreements

The Home Office said cooperation between the UK and France on stopping the boats slowed after the UK left the European Union in 2020.

In recent years, however, the UK and France have signed multiple agreements aimed at tackling irregular crossings.

Small boat arrivals have become a major political issue in the UK in recent years, with anger at what critics describe as repeated failures to reduce numbers. That frustration has been reflected in demonstrations and riots and has contributed to the rise of Reform UK.

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1 October 2026