The NAO acknowledges the vital role played by inspectorates but identifies inconsistency in the extent to which they are independent of government and in their reporting arrangements, which can limit their impact.
It is important that the services for vulnerable people at the Yarls Wood Immigration Removal Centre are delivered ‘right first time’ and this did not happen here. Steps are now being taken to address the problems but 35% of the recommendations from Her Majesty’s Inspector of Prisons’ 2015 inspection have not yet been implemented.
The Home Office has made slower progress than expected in managing foreign national offenders, despite increased resources and tougher powers.
The Border Force has successfully implemented full passenger checks and cut queuing times but at the cost of maintaining other aspects of border security.
Both organisations have achieved cost reduction and performance improvement, but poor planning and delayed delivery of projects hampered progress.
The Home Office spent at least £830 million between 2003 and 2015 on the e-borders programme and its successors, but has failed, so far, to deliver the full vision. We cannot, therefore view e-borders as having delivered value for money.
This system was implemented by the UK Border Agency with predictable flaws. The Agency has taken little action to prevent and detect students overstaying or working in breach of their visa conditions.
G4S and Serco, two of the new providers awarded Home Office contracts to provide accommodation for asylum seekers in the UK, struggled to get the contracts up and running.
The Points Based System doesn’t deliver its full value for money potential, while poor data and monitoring hampers the removal of failed applicants.
The New Asylum Model, introduced by the Home Office in 2006 to achieve faster conclusions to asylum applications, has strengthened aspects of the asylum process, according to a report today by the National Audit Office. The case ownership approach, in which a single individual manages an application from start to finish, has created a strong […]
This investigation covers the Home Office’s establishment and administration of the Windrush Compensation Scheme.
This report considers the effectiveness of the UK government’s cross-border travel measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Home Office spent some £28 million on plans to create a purpose-built asylum centre in Bicester, Oxfordshire, following its announcement in 2001 of a major overhaul of the asylum system to speed up the processing of applications from asylum-seekers. In 2005, in the light of improvements to the handling of asylum applications, reduced numbers […]
This report examines the government’s progress in managing the border and implementing the Northern Ireland Protocol since the end of the transition period.
Sir John Bourn, Head of the National Audit Office reported today on the entry clearance operation run by UKvisas at British Embassies, High Commissions and Consulates around the world. It is government policy to facilitate the entry of those qualifying for visas as quickly and simply as possible, while turning away unqualified applicants. UKvisas faces […]
This report assesses whether the Home Office’s activities for enforcing immigration rules are achieving its vision.
This investigation examines the Home Office’s response to suspected cheating in the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC).
The Immigration and Nationality Directorate and the Immigration Appellate Authority have increased the speed of the asylum decision-making process but further improvements can be made, with consequent savings in support and accommodation costs The Immigration and Nationality Directorate also needs to make further improvements to the quality of decision-making, according to a report to Parliament by the […]
This report describes government’s progress in implementing changes required to manage the border after the end of the transition period.
Customs has moved quickly to tighten border controls against illegal imports of animal products from outside of the European Union, since taking over this enforcement role in April 2003. As a result, the number of seizures has more than doubled, Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported to Parliament today. He recommended that […]