Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 44
44
Accepted
Paragraph: 214
It is not clear exactly which Government department or agency is ultimately responsible for coordinating...
Recommendation
It is not clear exactly which Government department or agency is ultimately responsible for coordinating border policy. Evidence from the Home Secretary suggested important roles for the Department of Health and Social Care, Public Health England and the Department for Transport as well as the Home Office and Border Force. Given that the Home Secretary announced the border quarantine policy it was surprising to discover that she did not expect to be involved in the decisions on travel corridors and that the Home Office wasn’t briefed on prevalence rates for different countries. While it is appropriate that all Departments carry out work within their remit, good coordination and some overall leadership is required for border policies to work coherently. Otherwise, there is the potential for confused policy-making and contradiction between Government departments, like that shown by the inconsistency between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for Transport on travel advice. This would likely reduce public confidence in the measures as they are introduced, and as they vary. We note that the COVID-19 Operations committee appears to be taking the decisions on border policy and we welcome a cross-Government process to coordinate different departments and ensure that decisions are consistent, and evidence based. However, it still resulted in different advice emerging from the FCO and DfT, and it remains unclear which Department retains lead responsibility for border policy. One accountable Department should be clearly charged with lead responsibility. We believe that should either be the Cabinet Office or, as the Department with overall responsibility for border operations, the Home Office.
Government response summary AI-generated
The Government states that lead responsibility for the international travel programme has transferred from the Home Office to the Department for Transport, with the Secretary of State for Transport now responsible for signing regulations, while collaborative efforts across departments continue.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
214
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted
The regulations were first signed by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care are part of a coherent effort across the whole of the UK to tackle COVID-19 and protect the lives and health of people living in this country. They are a direct response to the serious and imminent threat to public health posed by the virus. The Home Office including Border Force initially took on SRO responsibility for development and implementation of the measures and this has now transferred to the Department for Transport. The Secretary of State for Transport is now responsible for signing the regulations. Intensive collaboration across Government which is fundamental to the success of the International Travel Programme continues and demonstrates the very best of our Civil Service. Public health monitoring and assessment is primarily a matter for DHSC and the public health authorities across the Four Nations. Similarly, the public health legislative framework is a matter for DHSC. However, as we have seen through the COVID-19 pandemic our response to this threat has required an agile cross-government effort. The policy and operational response on international travel has been a collaborative effort at both Ministerial and official level across departments and DAs. 8 Home Office preparedness for COVID-19 (coronavirus): management of the borders:
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