Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 2
2
The Department relies upon a disturbingly weak evidence base to assess the impact of its...
Conclusion
The Department relies upon a disturbingly weak evidence base to assess the impact of its immigration enforcement activity. The lack of reliable evidence on what works prevents it from planning and prioritising its activities effectively. The Department accepts that it cannot easily use data to measure the impact of the £400 million it spends each year in Immigration Enforcement and has a “dearth of information” in some aspects of its activities. It allocates resources between its different immigration responsibilities based on “judgements”, but if those judgements are not based on evidence, it is unclear what factors the Department is considering. Worryingly, the Department could not always provide evidence or data to support its decisions, for example on its strategy to tackle organised immigration crime, or to demonstrate understanding of the problems it faces, for example the impact of accessible and good quality legal advice on its success in returns. Although it is working to increase its analytical capabilities to learn from the challenges it faces, this work is only at an early stage. Recommendation: Within six months of this report, the Department should put in place a detailed improvement plan for its collection, use, and analysis of data. It should write to the Committee and set out: • The skills gaps it has identified in its analytical capability and how it intends to fill them; 6 Immigration enforcement • A plan for transforming Immigration Enforcement into a data-led organisation, including timescales and priorities for improvements; and • How it intends to use this in the future to help plan and prioritise its activities.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Ta rget implementation date: March 2021 2.2 The department’s priority is to ensure that the collection, use and analysis of data support the effective delivery of public safety and security outcomes. Alongside HM Revenue and Customs, the Department for Work and Pensions and the National Health Service, the department holds some of the most significant datasets in Government. Effective use of data is therefore critical. 2.3 The department recognises that an investment in data analytics is important. As such, work is currently underway to create (and, where they already exist, expand) pockets of excellence, with an increased departmental-wide focus on data exploitation. The department’s technology investments are developing the underpinning infrastructure with a focus on accurate and high-quality data. Moving data onto modern and more resilient systems ensures that the twin priorities of keeping data secure and private and using data effectively to deliver positive outcomes can both be met. 2.4 The analytical capability within Immigration Enforcement (IE) specifically has grown significantly in recent years, with new Social Research, Operational Research and Economic Analysis teams all created to improve the analysis of data. But there is clearly more to do. 2.5 IE therefore has a comprehensive and long-term plan to transform into an organization that fully harnesses the opportunities that data provide. Whilst challenging – the plan involves the delivery of a number of technical components, the re-engineering of a number of existing work processes and an overarching cultural change in the way that IE staff approach data – the current departmental assessment is that, with the appropriate allocation and investment of resources, this plan can be fully and comprehensively delivered by 2025.