Call for evidence: An inspection of Home Office management of contact with migrants who are without leave to enter or remain
The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration invites anyone with knowledge and experience of Home Office contact management to submit evidence to inform this inspection.
The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) has commenced an inspection of the Home Office Migration & Borders System’s contact management processes and practice.
This inspection will focus on the efficiency and effectiveness of Home Office activity aimed at making, maintaining, and re-establishing contact with people, in particular those without leave to enter or remain in the UK. It will also consider the consequences and impact of loss of contact, both on the business of the Home Office and on individuals.
The scope of the inspection will include:
- recording of personal and contact details by the Home Office
- the promptness and efficiency with which Home Office correspondence (bail notices, casework decisions, notices of asylum support discontinuation, etc.) is served, including any measures to ensure that it has been received
- the clarity of Home Office correspondence, including where it requires action on the part of the recipient
- migrant awareness of the significance of remaining contactable by the Home Office, the means for doing so, and the possible consequences of loss of contact
- the use of reporting conditions as a form of contact management, including the efficiency and effectiveness of reporting – in person, by telephone, and digitally
- the efficiency and effectiveness of Home Office efforts to re-establish contact with ‘absconders’ or people who are otherwise ‘out of contact’ with the department
Please note that the following themes are out of scope for this inspection:
- the quality and consistency of Home Office decision making
- the efficiency and timeliness of Home Office decision making
This call for evidence will remain open until close of play 30 September 2024.
As Independent Chief Inspector, I am inviting anyone with knowledge or first-hand experience of Home Office contact management to submit evidence to inform this inspection. I would like to hear about both what is working well and what could be improved.
I would therefore welcome any anonymised case studies from those who have worked with individuals who have experience of Home Office contact management as set out in the list of in-scope activities above.
Please note that the ICIBI’s statutory remit does not extend to investigating or making decisions about individual cases. This remains a Home Office responsibility. However, the Independent Chief Inspector can take an interest in individual cases to the extent that they illustrate or point to systemic problems.
Please also note that the information you submit may be quoted in the final inspection report. However, it is the ICIBI’s practice not to name sources and to anonymise as much as possible any examples or case studies.
Please click here to email your submission to the Independent Chief Inspector.
Data Protection
Information on how ICIBI will process any personal data provided in response to this call for evidence can be found in the ICIBI privacy information notice.
David Bolt, Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration
13 September 2024