Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 15
15
The Department accepted that the Windrush lessons learned review had come exceptionally close to declaring...
Conclusion
The Department accepted that the Windrush lessons learned review had come exceptionally close to declaring it as institutionally racist. We were pleased to hear the Department commit to implementing each of the recommendations of that report and acknowledge the need to change the whole culture of the Department.38 We asked what proportion of senior staff within the Department came from minority backgrounds; only one member of its Executive Committee came from a black, Asian or minority ethnic background.39 The Department described the benefits of greater diversity at senior levels for its decision-making, leadership and governance but acknowledged diversity as being its biggest issue.40 Organising an end-to-end immigration enforcement system
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.