The Work of the UK Border Agency (October-December 2012)
The Work of the UK Border Agency (October-December 2012)

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Home Affairs Committee

Publisher: IDRC

Published: 2013-07-13

Total Pages: 74

ISBN-13: 9780215060754

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The Committee examines the work of the UK Border Agency (UKBA) on a three monthly basis. Following the abolition of the Agency it will continue to monitor the Home Office UK Visa and Immigration service on a three monthly basis. The Committee found a further backlog of 190,000 cases in the temporary and permanent migration pool that were never revealed to the Committee before. The total figure for the backlog has reached over half a million. The Committee feels it is unacceptable that new backlogs are revealed in Committee evidence sessions. The UK Border Agency had a troubled history. Many of its problems predate the establishment of the Agency. Ministers must now explain how those problems will not outlive its demise. To see a change in the culture in the new organisational structure and management it must be complemented by the ability for a wholesale restructuring of the employees of the organisation. The newly appointed Directors General must have the ability and resources necessary to implement this change. The Home Office should outline exactly how they propose to bring about this change in culture. In evidence the Committee were told the immigration service would never be fixed. This surprised the Committee since reducing immigration is a priority of this Government. What the immigration service needs desperately is stability, the resources necessary to clear the backlogs and a wholesale change in culture

The work of the UK Border Agency (April-July 2011)
The work of the UK Border Agency (April-July 2011)

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Home Affairs Committee

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2011-11-07

Total Pages: 428

ISBN-13: 9780215038562

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The November '10-March' 2011 report published as HC 929, session 2010-12 (ISBN 9780215559968 ). Earlier reports to that published as HC 406, session 2009-10 (ISBN 9780215553775) & its Government response, HC 457, session 2010-11 (ISBN 9780215554710). Those reports were follow-up to "The work of the UK Border Agency" (2nd report, session 2009-10, 105-I, ISBN 9780215542465) and "The E-Borders programme" (3rd report, session 2009-10, HC 170, ISBN 9780215542854). HC 370, session 2009-10 (ISBN 97802155544001) was the Government response to HC 105-I, session 2009-10. HC 587-I, session 2010-11 (ISBN 978021555861) and its Government response, HC 1027, session 2010-12 (ISBN 9780215559661) have also published since.

The Work of the UK Border Agency (July-September 2012)
The Work of the UK Border Agency (July-September 2012)

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Home Affairs Committee

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2013-03-25

Total Pages: 100

ISBN-13: 9780215055453

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The Home Affairs Committee asks for quarterly data from the UK Border Agency about its performance against a set of key indicators. This Report analyses data from July-September 2012, or 'Q3 2012'. This report is divided into two sections, the first focusing on the Agency's handling of the asylum and immigration backlog and the accuracy of the information it provided to this Committee on its work in this area. The second section assesses the Agency's performance across the main areas of its work by comparing on a quarterly basis its progress against a set of 'key indicators'.

House of Commons - Home Affairs Committee: The Work of the UK Border Agency (January-March 2013) - HC 616
House of Commons - Home Affairs Committee: The Work of the UK Border Agency (January-March 2013) - HC 616

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Home Affairs Committee

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2013-11-08

Total Pages: 94

ISBN-13: 9780215063489

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The Border Agency backlogs, by the time it was wound up, had fallen to 432,000. However, most of the 70,400 reduction was achieved by simply loading pending cases onto the computer, and in some categories-such as those applying for further leave to remain on the basis of marriage or civil partnership-the backlog had actually grown. The Committee has no objection in principle to the introduction of a charge for access to the National Health Service for those who are in the UK only temporarily. However it expresses concerns about the possible application of the scheme to vulnerable people who have been trafficked into the country and recommends that the Government should pilot an alternative option for visa applicants to take out private health insurance instead. This has been a chaotic summer for immigration policy. First we had the controversial AdVans which were rightly ridiculed, and then it was revealed that Capita had botched the contract to clear the migration refusal pool by asking British citizens to leave their own country. Finally we saw a u-turn on visa bonds, however the uncertainty has already done damage. A more effective and less menacing message would be that the Government is willing and able to support those who are here illegally to return home if they want to. Tough enforcement action should be taken against those who are determined to remain here illegally, but for the target audience of potential voluntary returners, the effectiveness of the carrot is potentially undermined by the ostentatious brandishing of the stick

Immigration
Immigration

Author: Great Britain: National Audit Office

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2011-03-15

Total Pages: 40

ISBN-13: 9780102969566

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The Points Based System introduced by the UK Border Agency in 2008 was for the most part designed well and provides an adaptable means of meeting the UK's work-related immigration policy objectives. However, the System is not yet delivering its full potential for value for money. The Points Based System scores migrants against a number of assessment criteria, including their skills. The system appears to have attracted skilled applications, although the evidence is not robust. The System has so far worked effectively to meet needs of employers although a third of sponsoring employers surveyed wanted to recruit more skilled foreign workers than they were able to. Sponsors and migrants often struggle to get the information and assistance they need and one-fifth of all sponsors would pay an additional charge to receive better customer service. The Agency needs to improve its management information. At present, it lacks the ability to identify easily individuals whose visas have expired and it does not do enough to check that migrants leave the UK if they have no right to remain. While it has some contact details for an estimated 181,000 failed applicants overall, the Agency cannot be sure how many have left the UK. Poor information systems are also undermining the ability of the Agency to manage the risk that sponsors are failing to comply with immigration rules. It rates as compliant some 96 per cent of its 22,000 sponsoring employers but is unable to say how many it has visited to confirm this.

The work of the UK Border Agency (April-July 2011)
The work of the UK Border Agency (April-July 2011)

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Home Affairs Committee

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2011-11-04

Total Pages: 40

ISBN-13: 9780215038517

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In this report the Committee criticises the UK Border Agency for failing to explain why 350 foreign national prisoners due to be deported are still in the country. The Agency provided the Committee with a breakdown of the issues with the deportation process of 1,300 prisoners who were released between 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2011. The largest group, making up 27% of the total, was labelled 'unknown'. The Committee also found that the Agency has not resolved all of the asylum 'legacy' cases first identified in 2006 within the promised 5 year timeframe. Instead, 18,000 ongoing cases are still awaiting a final decision. The Committee highlights its concern at the dramatic increase in files transferred to the "controlled archive" - where the Agency has lost contact with individuals - in the past six months. The files, which are placed in the archive when every effort to track an applicant has been exhausted, numbered 40,500 in March 2011. By September 2011, it had increased to 124,000. A series of specific recommendations are made: the Government should commission a detailed investigation into financial waste, included the writing-off of bad debts, overpayments to staff and asylum applicants, and failure to collect civil penalties; there should be better liaison between the Agency and HM Prison Service; the Agency is losing too many appeals at immigration tribunals and should raise the quality of its representation; all staff must be aware of the existence of "bogus colleges", which exist only to sponsor visa applications.

National Audit Office:The Border Force: Securing the Bordr: Home Office - HC 540
National Audit Office:The Border Force: Securing the Bordr: Home Office - HC 540

Author: Great Britain: National Audit Office

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2013-09-04

Total Pages: 44

ISBN-13: 9780102986136

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Since the UK Border Force was separated from the UK Border Agency, it has met some important objectives such as reducing queuing times. To provide value for money, however, it needs to perform effectively and in a sustained way across the full range of its activities. Border Force officers reported that staff shortages and the requirement to prioritize full passenger checks while managing queue times often prevented their performing other important duties, such as checking freight. In addition, during the first months of 2012-13, the Border Force's performance in some of its activities, such as seizures of cigarettes and counterfeit goods, entry refusals and detecting forgeries, was below target. The Home Office's internal auditors confirmed that the 2012 Olympics and wider resourcing issues had an effect on the Border Force's ability consistently to resource customs controls. The Border Force's workforce lacks organizational identity. The Border Force consists largely of officers who previously worked in separate customs and immigrations agencies, who typically still identify themselves as 'ex-customs' or 'ex-immigration'. To meet the demands the Border Force is recruiting more staff. Despite this, there are continuing staff shortages at the border. The Border Force has not established whether it has the resources it needs to deliver all its objectives. It needs to deploy staff flexibly to respond to its competing demands, but is prevented from doing this as efficiently as possible because almost a fifth of its workforce is employed under terms and conditions that restrict working hours to fixed periods during the week