An Investigation Into Border Security Checks
An Investigation Into Border Security Checks

Author: John Vine

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 88

ISBN-13: 9780108511363

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The Chief Inspector was commissioned by the Home Secretary to investigate and report on the level of checks operated at ports of entry to the UK. This followed the disclosure that some checks may have been suspended without the approval of ministers and the subsequent suspension of the then Head of Border Force. The investigation focused particularly on: the Home Office Warnings Index (WI) - used to ascertain whether passengers are of interest to the government agencies; Secure ID - checks passengers' fingerprints at immigration controls against those provided in the visa application process; and the risk-based measures that formed part of the level 2 pilot - where it was no longer routine to open the biometric chip within EEA passports or perform WI checks of EEA children travelling in obvious family or school groups. The number of occasions when checks were suspended depended on the volume of passengers, the level of risk they presented, staff available and the infrastructure of the ports. Overall, the Chief Inspector found poor communication, poor managerial oversight and a lack of clarity about roles and responsibilities.There was no single framework setting out all potential border security checks, which of these could be suspended, in what circumstances and the level of authority required at Agency or Ministerial level to do so. The Agency now has a stronger grip on checks, but a new framework of security checks is urgently needed, unambiguously specifying checks that must always be carried out and those where there is discretion to suspend.

The work of the UK Border Agency
The work of the UK Border Agency

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

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2011-01-11

Total Pages: 36

ISBN-13: 9780215555861

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In this report the Home Affairs Committee highlights a number of areas where the UK Border Agency is not meeting the standards which both those using its services and the general public have the right to expect. The committee singles out the continuing threat of delays and backlogs in processing asylum applications, which it attributes at least in part to inadequate decision-making in the first instance. The committee reiterates its predecessors' recommendations about tightening up the registration and inspection of colleges in order to close down bogus institutions established chiefly to enable people to bypass the restrictions on work-related immigration to the UK. It raises concerns that the programme to clear the historic backlog of 400-450,000 asylum cases will end in July 2011 with the Agency having been unable to discover what has happened to the claimants in up to one in seven (61,000) of the cases. The passage of time means that the UK Border Agency is unlikely to trace 70 of the 1013 Foreign National Prisoners whose release without deportation led to Mr Charles Clarke's resignation as Home Secretary in 2005. There are concerns about the adequacy of the training and supervision of those involved in the enforced removal of unsuccessful asylum claimants. Finally, in the current economic situation a significantly lower salary should be paid to the successor to the outgoing head of the Agency.

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'.

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 (December 2011-March 2012)
The work of the UK Border Agency (December 2011-March 2012)

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

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2012-07-23

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 9780215047304

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For the first time the Committee has collated the backlog of outstanding cases in the various areas where the UK Border Agency deals with casework. This report criticises the Agency for failing to conclude the total backlog of 276,460 cases. The Committee makes a number of key recommendations: a team should be established to examine why the 3,900 foreign national offenders living in the community as of 4 April have not been deported; deportation proceedings for foreign national prisoners must begin at the time of sentencing; a list of those countries refusing to accept the return of their own criminals who have committed offences in the UK must be published; the Agency should expand its checks to include a wider range of databases in order to assist with tracing of those in the controlled archive; students should be removed from net migration target; face to face interviews for all foreign students must be compulsory; the Agency must be represented at 100%, not 84%, of all tribunal hearings; all inspection visits on Tier 4 must be unannounced; the Agency must inform the informants as to possible illegal immigrants of the outcome of their tip-off and provide a breakdown of the outcomes of its enforcement visits. The Committee reiterates that Senior Agency staff should not receive bonuses until the Agency's performance improves and bonuses paid in the past contrary to the Committee's recommendations should be repaid

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.

The Work of the UK Border Agency (April-June 2012)
The Work of the UK Border Agency (April-June 2012)

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

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2012-11-09

Total Pages: 100

ISBN-13: 9780215049926

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The Agency's backlog is growing at an alarming rate-it has increased by over 25,000 cases since the first quarter of this year. The backlog consists of: the Migration Refusal Pool which contains records of individuals without leave to remain in the UK, who cannot be traced and has grown by 24,000 records since the first quarter of this year-it now totals 174,000; ex-Foreign National Offenders with 3,954 ex-FNOs living in the community whilst deportation action against them proceeds; the so-called 'controlled' archive with cases the Agency has no control over, it does not even know where the applicants are -there were 95,000 cases in archive' at the end of June this year and senior management promised to clear it by 31st December which would mean writing off 81,000 files; Asylum and migration live cohorts where the UKBA has managed to trace an applicant thought to have been lost and is working to close their case- with 29,000 cases in the live cohorts at the end of June this year. The UKBA must adopt a transparent and robust approach to tackling the backlogs instead of creating new ways of camouflaging them. Until the entire backlog is cleared the Committee does not believe that senior staff should receive any bonuses. The Committee also doubts that the Agency is adequately equipped to deal with the increase in asylum applications. Cases waiting for an initial decision after 6 months have risen by 36% since June 2011. The Committee is further concerned about the quality of decision making. Poor decision making may result in people being returned home when they face persecution and torture

Work of the UK Border Agency (August - December 2011)
Work of the UK Border Agency (August - December 2011)

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

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2012-04-11

Total Pages: 82

ISBN-13: 9780215043702

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In this Home Affairs Committee's report into the Work of the UK Border Agency, it criticises the Agency for failing to deport more than 600 foreign national prisoners who were released between 1999 and 2006 and are still in the country and for failing to clear the "controlled archive" of lost applicants. At the current rate it will take a further 4 years to close all cases. The Committee found that the Agency has still not resolved all of the asylum 'legacy' cases first identified in 2006. Instead, there are 17,000 ongoing cases still awaiting a final decision and the Agency appears to be discovering more cases. The Committee remains uncertain over the feasibility of the Government's e-borders timetable. It finds it difficult to see how the scheme can be applied to all rail and sea passengers by December 2014. It acknowledges that the Government must have a comprehensive e-border system if it is to be effective. However, it needs clarity on policy and practicalities for achieving this. The Committee makes a series of specific recommendations aimed at improving the working of the Agency, concerning: appeals, bogus colleges, data provided and use of statistics. It calls on the Home Office to act immediately to deal with the public scepticism over the effectiveness of the UK Border Agency and to require clarity in the information produced for both the public and Parliament.

Race, Gender and the Body in British Immigration Control
Race, Gender and the Body in British Immigration Control

Author: E. Smith

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2014-07-29

Total Pages: 259

ISBN-13: 1137280441

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This book analyses the practice of virginity testing endured by South Asian women who wished to enter Britain between the late 1960s and the early 1980s, and places this practice into a wider historical context. Using recently opened government documents the extent to which these women were interrogated and scrutinized at the border is uncovered.