MANAGEMENT OVERHAUL IN IMMIGRATION & NATIONALITY DIR
(25 March 2004)

An urgent overhaul of management and reporting processes in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate has been put in place, Home Office Minister Beverley Hughes announced today. This will implement the recommendations in the final report into the operation of the EC Association Agreements enabling self-employed people from ten Eastern European countries to set up businesses in the UK. The new measures will ensure better integration between the policy and operational divisions of IND and responsibility at a senior management level in the Department for clearing significant new processes with Ministers.

The report, published today, confirms that instructions for clearing a backlog of these applications were issued by local managers without the guidance being authorised by senior officials or Ministers. The Director General of IND has now initiated a disciplinary investigation to decide what further measures are required. This is a civil service process independent of Ministers.

Ms Hughes said: "This report makes clear that the current systems of management and lines of accountability in parts of IND are not good enough. That is why I have today ordered IND to make urgent improvements and implement the report's recommendations. This is vital to public confidence.

"IND has struggled with backlogs since the late eighties and it is important that they are being tackled. Delays in dealing with applications only help those who are trying to play the system. However, the decisions about how to tackle them need to be carefully risk assessed, developed through an approved clearance procedure and have the proper authority. That did not happen in this particular case.

"That is why the new system will require approval at Director level with appropriate Ministerial oversight. I have also instructed a new audit system to be set up to undertake inspections of working practices and performance in all parts of IND's business, and report to me.

"Mistakes have been made in Sheffield - both in the process involved in issuing the guidance, the guidance itself and its oversight. The action we are taking should ensure no recurrence. However, it is important to remember that the applications processed were mostly from people already lawfully in the UK who wanted to set themselves up in business.

"The Director General has now initiated a disciplinary investigation to decide what further measures are required. Rightly, this is independent of Ministers.

"There are, however, other areas of IND's business where backlogs remain a problem, including a number of older cases where a decision has been taken but other issues have been raised by the applicant. I have put in hand a full analysis of this and steps to be taken to deal with it.

"It is important that these events do not overshadow the great strides that have been made by IND in recent years, including through the excellent work of caseworking staff in Sheffield. It is through the tremendous efforts of staff that we have halved asylum applications, increased removals to record numbers, are processing 80 per cent of new asylum cases in two months and have successfully implemented in Croydon and Sheffield a complex and large scale charging regime for non-asylum casework saving the taxpayer millions of pounds."

In the financial year to date there have been 36,000 applications under the ECAA category and 29,000 were from people already lawfully in the UK.

The report found:

* Local managers in the Sheffield office issued guidance, in two stages, relaxing the checks on applications under the ECAA category. This was not authorised or cleared by senior managers in IND or by Ministers.

* The guidance, and the deployment of additional staff, was intended to clear a backlog of ECAA applications.

* The guidance had nothing to do with attempting to reduce the number of people coming to the UK from EU accession states after 1 May. Most applications came from people who were already lawfully in the UK.

All the report's recommendations have been accepted by Ministers. The key points are:

* Guidance should be standardised throughout IND and authorised by both policy and operational Directors. Directors will be responsible for consulting Ministers on the most significant changes.

* The IND Joint Programme Board and relevant Sub Programme Boards will have oversight of all caseworking guidance being issued in IND.

* All IND staff at Grade 7 level (civil service middle management) and above will receive training on policy and process development and what Ministers need to authorise.

* The expertise involved in caseworking should be recognised as a specialism within IND and considered as a competency in assessing people for relevant jobs.

* All guidance should be electronically available with out of hours contact details to ensure that media enquiries can be dealt with accurately.

Response to Home Affairs Select Committee and NASS Review

The Home Office is also publishing today its response to the Home Affairs Select Committee's inquiry into asylum applications. In response to the recommendation of the Committee and requests from stakeholders the Home Office is also publishing the review of the National Asylum Support Service which took place early last year.

Ms Hughes said: "I welcome the broad backing of the Home Affairs Select Committee for our strategy on asylum which has enabled us to deliver on our pledge to halve the number of asylum seekers.

"The review of the National Asylum Support Service, which we are also publishing today, is a year old. I commissioned this to resolve the problems NASS had at that time, and real progress has been made since then. NASS has strengthened its management structure and training, and improved relationships with stakeholders through new consultation groups and the setting up of regional offices."

To build and consolidate on the improvements at NASS the Government is also making a number of other announcements:

* Publish policy guidance on Section 4 support (limited support for those whose claims have failed but are genuinely unable to return home). Now that there is an agreement to commence voluntary and enforced returns to Iraq from April, Iraqis will no longer be routinely eligible for Section 4 support.

* Since last summer NASS has suspended processing of claims for back-payments of asylum support while we clarified the legal position. The Home Office now confirms that we will only make back-payments where the missing payments result from an error on the part of NASS and the claimant is still supported by NASS. A dedicated team will work through the oustanding claims resulting from the suspension. The Government will make an announcement on backpayments of income support shortly.

* Issue a consultation paper on supporting asylum seekers with care needs.

* Abolish the "Single Additional Payment".

* An annual below inflation increase in asylum support levels in line with DWP increases in income support will come into force on 12 April.

* The Home Office has also terminated its accommodation contract with Landmark Liverpool which was providing substandard service.

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