Publishing his annual report, David Neal said:
Commenting on the publication of his annual report for 2021-22, David Neal said:
The UK Borders Act 2007 requires the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration to make a report to the Home Secretary each year on the performance of immigration, asylum, nationality, and customs functions. This annual report provides a valuable opportunity for me to reflect on the findings of my inspections and to draw out wider themes and issues.
In my annual report for 2021-22, I highlighted three areas of particular concern. First, I comment on the need for the Home Office to develop greater resilience in the face of 'crisis' so that the extent to which unforeseen challenges disrupt the department's routine operations is minimised. Secondly, I note that several of my inspections pointed to a need for the Home Office to adopt a greater focus on vulnerability, particularly when its safeguarding responsibilities are in tension with its immigration control objectives. Finally, I point to the perennial problem of the poor quality of the data on which the Home Office relies to carry out its borders and immigration functions, an issue that arises in almost every ICIBI inspection.
The annual report notes that, as in years past, the Home Office has accepted, in whole or in part, the vast majority of ICIBI recommendations, with 63% fully accepted and 29% partially accepted, but the department's capacity for tracking progress on recommendations remains poor, and it is clear that many accepted recommendations have not been implemented. As examples, the annual report cited the lack of a published service standard for asylum decisions, months after the Home Office had accepted a recommendation to reintroduce one "as a matter of urgency", and the lack of "effective consultation methods with local authorities … prior to the establishment of contingency asylum accommodation", even after the department had committed to develop such methods. Months after I pointed to these examples, I am frustrated that there is still no published service standard for asylum decisions, and I am sure that many local authorities would agree that the Home Office's approach to engagement with them on the placement of asylum accommodation sites still requires improvement.
I am pleased that my 2021-22 annual report has now been published, albeit more than eight months after its submission to the Home Secretary and with just days to spare before the end of current business year. Having expressed disappointment in the report at the Home Office's failure to lay my inspection reports in Parliament within agreed timescales, I find it frustrating that it has taken a particularly long time for this document to be made available to parliamentarians and the wider public.
The ICIBI Annual Report for 2021-22 was sent to the Home Secretary on 8 July 2022.
