Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 3
3
The culture and make-up of the Department have left it poorly placed to appreciate the...
Conclusion
The culture and make-up of the Department have left it poorly placed to appreciate the impact of its policies on the people affected. The Department has done little to dispel accusations that its decisions are based on a lack of curiosity, preconceptions and even prejudice. The Department acknowledges how close it came to being declared institutionally racist in the Windrush lessons learned review and that it has to change its culture. It recognises the value of greater diversity for enabling better decision-making, leadership and governance, though only one member of the Department’s current executive committee comes from a BAME background. Similarly, the Department recognises that it could improve the successful management of cases through the immigration system by adopting a more people-centred approach. Yet there is little existing evidence that the Department actively seeks to identify or evaluate the impact of its actions on the individuals it encounters. This creates a risk of harm and distress to innocent people who are here perfectly legally, and we are not satisfied that the Department attaches sufficient importance to this risk. Recommendation: Building on its response to the Windrush lessons learned review, the Department should mobilise its evidence base and evaluations to challenge its own assumptions and beliefs about the user experience within the immigration system. The Department should write to us by 31st December 2020, setting out the insights it has developed about the experience of its users, and what improvements it is making as a result.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Winter 2021 3.2 The department is committed to using customer insight wherever possible and appropriate to inform the ongoing design and delivery of the immigration system. Customer insight was a key shaper, for example, of the successful EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS). An ongoing programme of engagement with those who use and are subject to aspects of the immigration system is supporting the development of the department’s modernised systems and processes. Within IE specifically, user insight continues to be an important influence on the design and day-to-day management of the immigration detention estate, the Voluntary Returns Service (VRS) and contact management and reporting arrangements. 3.3 Looking ahead, the department’s response to the Windrush Lessons Learned Review by Wendy Williams puts user experience and feedback at the heart of its work to make the department more outward facing. A new customer strategy will enable data, insight and segmentation analysis across all customer and user cohorts, to drive continuous improvement. The department is establishing a Young People’s Board composed of 15-25 year olds who have recently been through the immigration system, and is consulting with the Windrush Cross-Government Working Group on how best to advance the recommendation to establish a Migrants’ Commissioner to engage with migrant communities directly and facilitate their feedback so that it can be considered in policy development and operational activity.