Recommendation 25

When we questioned the Home Office about repeated mistakes in its acquisitions of large sites, it explained that it was learning from multiple projects at the same time. The Home Office informed us that its lessons learned review identified over 1,000 lessons. 82 When asked if it planned to publish the review, the Home Office stated that it had no intention of doing so.83 However, the Home Office emphasised that it is a “lesson-learning organisation” and stressed that this requires it to be open to acknowledging when things go wrong and learning from those experiences.84 In our evidence session, the Home Office highlighted two key types of lessons it had learned: one focused on capability, and the other focused on refining systems, assurance and processes within the department.85 It said that building up the capability of its property team was the first lesson learnt after the Northeye acquisition and told us that its newly formed team has much greater property expertise than previously.86 The Home Office also claimed to have learned lessons around its systems and processes, stating that it is now “stricter” about the necessary due diligence.87 We sought assurance that the Home Office would maintain adequate controls and safeguards to prevent similar mistakes in future acquisitions. It outlined that before any site is acquired, thorough due diligence will be conducted by in-house property advisors.88 The National Audit Office reported that the Home Office ended its shared-services agreement with the MoJ in April 2024 and has re-established an in-house property function.89