Progress in reforming the UK Border Agency
Closed
What the inquiry looked at
“The Committee last scrutinised what was then UK Border Agency (UKBA) in 2012, highlighting six key areas of concern relating to: delays with the transformation programme, significant risks that the Immigration Case Work Project would not deliver; backlogs in Asylum cases; poor workforce planning and skills strategy; inadequate modelling of demand; and insufficient focus on improving performance management. In March 2013, in recognition of the seriousness of the problems faced by the former UKBA, the Home Secretary abolished the remaining Agency and brought its work into the Home Office under two new directorates: UK Visas and Immigration and Immigration Enforcement. These directorates, together with the Border Force directorate which was separated from the Agency in March 2012, collectively manage over 100 million people who arrive each year in the UK. This inquiry will look at performance in immigration and visas since 2012, focusing on where improvements can be made and progress with clearing backlogs. It will also look at how the Home Office has handled change and how it can improve its central support services for immigration work, especially IT and management information. Further information National Audit Office report: Reforming the UK Border Agency and immigration system in England Chair's statement on reforming the UK Border Agency and immigration system”
The committee's words, from the inquiry page on parliament.uk ↗.
What it found
The Home Office (the Department) acquired direct responsibility for the significant problems faced by the UK Border Agency (the Agency) when it was abolished in March 2013 and its functions were transferred to the Department. While performance in most of the areas transferred has held steady, the Department has failed to deal with long standing backlogs of asylum claims. Many older asylum claims—some over seven years old—remain undecided, while a new backlog of cases awaiting initial decision is forming. This is partly as a result of a botched attempt by the Agency to downgrade staff that resulted in 120 experienced caseworkers leaving. The Department lacks the data it needs to manage its backlogs and the overall workload effectively. The failure of a number of IT projects has also compromised the Department’s ability to track people through the immigration system and ensure that those with no right to remain are removed from the UK.
What the government said
No government response is linked to this report.
How the inquiry ran
Each dot is a dated item listed on this page, from the inquiry's opening on 16 July 2014 to its close on 26 March 2015.
- Oral evidence 3 Sep 2014
- Report 29 Oct 2014
What it recommended
The committee's recommendations are not listed here yet. Read them in 20th Report - Reforming the UK border and immigration system ↗ on parliament.uk.
Evidence
Oral evidence sessions 1
- 3 Sep 2014No witnesses recordedparliament.uk ↗