[Withdrawn] Home Office single departmental plan
Updated 27 June 2019
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-single-departmental-plan/home-office-single-departmental-plan--3
This publication was withdrawn on 15 July 2021
It has been replaced by the Home Office Outcome Delivery Plan.
Our single departmental plan sets out our objectives and how we will achieve them.
Since 1782, the Home Office has led work to keep the country safe from those who seek to do it harm, making a core contribution to the government’s plan for a stronger, fairer, outward-looking and united Britain.
Our vision is for a United Kingdom that is secure and prosperous, where citizens, residents and visitors are safe and feel safe to go about their lawful business and where institutions at all levels of society uphold rights, liberties and the rule of law.
Our objectives
We will:
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Improve public safety and security
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Strengthen the border, immigration and citizenship system
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Maximise the benefits of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union
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Improve corporate services
1. Improve public safety and security
1.1 Reduce crime and the harm that it causes, including serious and organised crime
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Respond to serious violence and recent increases in knife crime, gun crime and homicide by implementing the Serious Violence Strategy (contributes SDG 16) |
| Update the way we think about crime prevention by implementing the Modern Crime Prevention Strategy |
| Improve policing, drawing on the lessons of the Policing Front Line Review, investing in police transformation and refocusing police pay to reward competence, development and skills |
| Additional funding to support a surge in operational police activity, as well as investment to establish Violence Reduction Units in areas most affected by serious violence (contributes to SDG 16) |
| Implement the serious and organised crime strategy to disrupt highest-harm serious and organised criminals and networks by working with partners to increase operating risk for the highest-harm offenders, utilising new data and intelligence capabilities and improving our understanding of criminal markets (contributes to SDG 16) |
| Reduce serious and organised crime by building resilience and defence in vulnerable people, communities and businesses |
| Stop the problem at source by identifying and supporting those at risk of engaging in criminality |
| Establish a single, whole-system approach to serious and organised crime by expanding our global reach and pooling skills and expertise with the private sector |
1.2 Prevent fires or reduce their impact
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Improve Fire and Rescue Services’ prevention of fire and rescue risks through national campaigns and future fire safety legislation |
| Improve Fire and Rescue Services’ protection against, and response to, fire and safety risks through delivery of the cross-government fire reform programme, which will take into consideration the findings of the Grenfell Tower inquiry |
1.3 Manage civil emergencies within the remit of the Home Office
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Improve Home Office capability to manage civil emergencies by the creation of the Departmental Operations Centre |
| Support police forces and fire and rescue services to build their capability to respond to civil emergencies |
1.4 Protect vulnerable people and communities
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Deliver and monitor the actions laid out in the Violence against Women and Girls Strategy refresh (contributes to SDG 5) |
| Introduce the Domestic Abuse Bill, aimed at supporting victims and their families and pursuing offenders |
| Pool our expertise and experience of safeguarding to share best practice on protecting the most vulnerable people in our society, particularly children |
1.5 Reduce extremism and the harm that it causes
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Increase the prevalence of shared values through implementation of the Counter-Extremism and Integrated Communities Strategies (jointly with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) |
| Reduce the impact, prominence and reach of extremists by implementing the Hate Crime Action Plan |
| Strengthen the resilience of public institutions, communities and individuals |
1.6 Reduce terrorism
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Implement the CONTEST strategy to stop people becoming terrorists, or supporting terrorism, by safeguarding and supporting those vulnerable to radicalisation and enabling those who have already engaged in terrorism to disengage and rehabilitate |
| Stop terrorist attacks in this country and against UK interests overseas by disrupting those who wish to engage in terrorist activity (contributes to SDG 16) |
| Strengthen protection against a terrorist attack by improving security and resilience across the UK’s public spaces, transport and infrastructure and reducing illicit access to the material needed for an attack, including at the border |
| Mitigate the impact of a terrorist attack to save lives, reduce harm and aid recovery quickly by delivering a co-ordinated response across the emergency services and a strengthened response to evolving threats |
| Develop existing capabilities by further integrating across the national security community and developing wider partnerships across the public and private sector |
Our performance
Crimes measured by the independent Crime Survey for England and Wales (including fraud and computer misuse)
| Year | Crimes measured |
|---|---|
| Year ending December 2018 | 11.0m |
| Year ending December 2017 | 10.8m |
| Year ending December 2016 | 10.6m |
The latest estimates from the independent Crime Survey for England and Wales show that there was no change in total crime compared with the previous year (a 2% increase is not statistically significant). In contrast to the crime survey, police-recorded crime figures show an increase of 7% over the same period. The Office for National Statistics has said that the crime survey is the better measure of long-term trends for most offences. Police figures are affected by changes in recording practices and police activity as well as changing behaviour in public reporting of crime.
Source: Independent Crime Survey for England and Wales year ending Dec 18; release schedule: quarterly
Violent Crime: Offences involving violence against a person recorded by the police
| Year | Offences recorded |
|---|---|
| Year ending December 2018 | 1.6 m |
| Year ending December 2017 | 1.4 m |
| Year ending December 2016 | 1.1m |
Police-recorded crime provides a better measure for levels of serious violence. In the year to December 2018, offences involving violence against a person recorded by the police showed an increase of 19%. There was a 2% decrease in police-recorded offences involving firearms and a 6% increase in police-recorded offences involving a knife or sharp instrument.
Source: Police-recorded crime year ending December 2018; release schedule: quarterly
Crime outcomes: Recorded crime outcomes for England and Wales
| Year | Recorded crime resulting in a charge or summons |
|---|---|
| Year ending December 2018 | 8.2% |
| Year ending March 2017 | 9.1% |
| Year ending March 2016 | 11.4% |
A combination of increased reporting and improved crime recording by the police has resulted in increased caseloads and a changing crime mix. This includes more complex crimes that take longer to reach an outcome, such as domestic abuse or sexual offences.
Source: Crime outcomes in England and Wales; release schedule: annually
Fire and Rescue Service attendance at incidents
| Year | Number of incidents attended |
|---|---|
| Year ending September 2018 | 583,000 |
| Year ending September 2017 | 569,000 |
Fire and Rescue Service attendance at incidents: of 583,000 incidents attended, almost a third (approximately 181,000) were fires. Outdoor fires, while a relatively small category, increased by 20%, linked to the hot, dry summer in 2018.
Source: Fire and rescue incident statistics year ending September 2018; release schedule: quarterly
Fire-related fatalities
| Year | Number of incidents attended |
|---|---|
| Year ending September 2018 | 248 |
| Year ending September 2017 | 362 |
Source: Fire and rescue incident statistics year ending September 2018; release schedule: quarterly
Domestic abuse-related crimes: Estimated number of victims of domestic abuse in the last year measured by the independent Crime Survey for England and Wales
| Year | Crimes measured |
|---|---|
| Year ending March 2018 | 2.0m |
| Year ending March 2017 | 1.9m |
| Year ending March 2016 | 2.0m |
The independent Crime Survey for England and Wales is the preferred source for levels of domestic abuse. It shows little change in prevalence. However, the police recorded nearly 600,000 domestic abuse related crimes in the year ending March 2018. This was an increase of 23% from the previous year. This in part reflects police forces’ improvements to identification and recording of domestic abuse incidents as crimes, and an increased willingness by victims to come forward.
Source: Independent Crime Survey for England and Wales year ending March 2018; release schedule: quarterly
Counter-extremism (number of civil society groups targeting this in the community)
We have now over 240 civil society groups countering extremism in their communities, and a network of counter-extremism community co-ordinators in place across 40 partnership areas.
Source: Home Office annual report and accounts: 2018 to 2019; release schedule: annually
2. Strengthen the border, immigration and citizenship system
2.1 Secure the border against threats from people and goods
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Protect the public from harm, while facilitating legitimate travel and trade, by intervening at the earliest appropriate point, supported by data and intelligence |
| Establish the identity and status of people and goods in advance of entry by verifying before departure and on arrival |
| Assure the integrity of the border by understanding and addressing systemic vulnerabilities to enable informed resource deployment and investment decisions |
| Respond to changing threats and demand through flexible, responsive and proportionate detection, disruption and deterrent capabilities |
2.2 Control migration
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Introduce the Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill to end free movement and provide the framework for the future border and immigration system |
| Begin phased delivery of the future skills-based immigration system that promotes a diverse, cohesive society, supports an open, global economy, controls the number of people coming to live and work here and reduces net migration to sustainable levels |
| Create a fair and transparent immigration system by simplifying the rules and designing out abuse |
| Support the needs of the economy through a single route which gives access to highly skilled and skilled workers from all countries, in line with the UK’s Industrial Strategy |
| Reduce illegal migration and the harm it causes, including disrupting organised criminal groups and tackling threats associated with immigration offending through intelligence-led enforcement and conducting voluntary and enforced returns |
| Deter illegal migration by controlling access to work, benefits and services, while continuing to evaluate and strengthen safeguards that ensure lawful migrants do not become entangled in measures intended to tackle unlawful behaviour |
2.3 Provide world-class customer services and contribute to prosperity
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Continue to provide assistance to members of the Windrush generation via the Commonwealth Citizens’ Taskforce and Windrush Compensation Scheme |
| Provide excellent customer-focused services through efficient, user-friendly processes responding to changing customer needs, for example rollout of digital application processing in Her Majesty’s Passport Office and in-country online visa applications |
| Ensure fees and charges support our goals and wider government objectives |
| Make the correct decision first time on all customer applications and drive consistency and efficiency by simplifying processes and automating checks where appropriate |
| Continue to deliver the EU Settlement Scheme, including support to vulnerable groups underpinned by a strong communication campaign, and learn lessons from the fully digital process and new technologies to improve future systems |
2.4 Protect vulnerable people and communities
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Respond to the recommendations of the independent Windrush Lessons Learned Review |
| Protect the welfare of vulnerable people in detention by implementing the formal commitments made in response to Stephen Shaw’s report on immigration detention |
| Fulfil the UK’s humanitarian and international objectives by delivering on committed resettlement schemes and improving provisions to support integration |
| Create an efficient and effective in-country protection system by resolving asylum claims and appeals efficiently and strengthening asylum policy guidance |
| Identify and safeguard vulnerable people to protect victims of trafficking, modern slavery, detainees and children at risk of abduction (contributes to SDGs 5, 8 and 16) |
Our performance
Total revenue protected
| Year | Total revenue protected (£millions) |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 302.7 |
| 2017 | 285.8 |
| 2016 | 260.2 |
Source: Border Force transparency data; release schedule: quarterly
Total number of people initially refused leave to enter and those who were EEA nationals
| Year | People initially refused | EEA nationals initially |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 20,400 | 3,360 |
| 2017 | 18,700 | 3,960 |
| 2016 | 17,500 | 2,580 |
Source: Immigration statistics year ending December 2018; release schedule: quarterly
Organised immigration crime: In 2018/19, Immigration Enforcement made 593 disruptions against individuals and organised crime groups involved in the exploitation of people through modern slavery and organised immigration crime. 71 of these were major. This is an increase of 42% and 41% on the previous year for the number of total disruptions and major disruptions respectively.
Annual net migration
| Year | Annual net migration |
|---|---|
| Year ending September 2018 | 283,000 |
| Year ending September 2017 | 277,000 |
| Year ending September 2016 | 306,000 |
Source: Migration statistics quarterly report (ONS) February 2019; release schedule: quarterly
Number of skilled work clearance visas granted
| Year | Visas granted |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 102,700 |
| 2017 | 94,200 |
| 2016 | 93,300 |
Source: Immigration statistics year ending December 2018; release schedule: quarterly
Number of sponsored study visas granted
| Year | Visas granted |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 241,100 |
| 2017 | 223,300 |
| 2016 | 207,100 |
Source: Immigration statistics year ending December 2018; release schedule: quarterly
Sample of passengers cleared within service standards
| Quarters | Percentage of passengers |
|---|---|
| Q4 2018 | 96.2% |
| Q3 2018 | 95.2% |
| Q2 2018 | 95.0% |
| Q1 2018 | 97.5% |
| Q4 2017 | 98.2% |
Source: Border Force transparency data February 2019; release schedule: quarterly
ePassport Gates (number of passenger transactions)
Border Force have facilitated the increase in passenger transactions through the ePassport Gates from 46.2 million in 2017 to 53.3 million.
Source: Home Office annual report and accounts: 2018 to 2019; release schedule: annually
Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme: As of December 2018, 14,940 people had been granted humanitarian protection in the UK under the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme.
Total people resettled
| Year | People (cumulative) |
|---|---|
| Year ending December 2018 | 14,940 |
| Year ending December 2017 | 5,710 |
| Year ending December 2016 | 1,340 |
Source: Immigration statistics year ending December 2018; release schedule: quarterly
Number of people granted asylum
| Year | Adults | Children |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 9,300 | 6,600 |
| 2017 | 8,900 | 5,900 |
| 2016 | 10,000 | 5,200 |
Source: Immigration statistics year ending December 2018; release schedule: quarterly
3. Maximise the benefits of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union
3.1 Maximise the benefits of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union
| How we will achieve this (subject to negotiations) |
|---|
| Keep British citizens safe as we leave the EU by agreeing a comprehensive new security, law enforcement and criminal justice partnership with the EU to fight shared threats from terrorism and organised crime (with the Department for Exiting the European Union, Ministry of Justice and Foreign and Commonwealth Office) (contributes to SDG 16) |
| Implement a new immigration system which provides control of the number of EU nationals coming into the UK and secures the status of EU nationals who are already living in the UK |
| Support the needs of the economy through a single route which gives access to highly skilled and skilled workers from all countries, in line with the UK’s Industrial Strategy |
| Deliver a practical solution that allows for the maintenance of the Common Travel Area, while protecting the integrity of the UK’s immigration system |
Our performance
EU Settlement Scheme applications
From August 2018 to the end of March 2019 we successfully processed over 200,000 EU Settlement Scheme applications.
Source: Home Office annual report and accounts: 2018 to 2019; release schedule: annually
4. Improve corporate services
4.1 Fulfil the statutory and constitutional duties of the Home Office
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Implement the Home Office Project Management Capability Strategy and associated Project Delivery Framework to drive consistency in how we plan and deliver programmes |
| Implement the Home Office Digital, Data and Technology Strategic Operating Model to ensure reliable, responsive, secure technology and data and fully accessible, customer-centric, digital services, providing an improved experience for citizens, residents and visitors |
| Implement the Home Office Commercial Strategy to deliver improved outcomes and value for money from our contracts and procurements |
| Implement the Home Office People Strategy, including the Diversity and Inclusion and Wellbeing Strategies, to embed strategic workforce planning and ensure that, by 2025, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of everything we do |
Our performance
People survey engagement score
| Year | Engagement score |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 56% |
| 2017 | 56% |
| 2016 | 53% |
Source: Civil Service People Survey; release schedule: annually
Representation of female staff, ethnic minority staff and disabled staff
| Year | Female | Ethnic minority | Disabled |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 52.42% | 23.36% | 9.05% |
| 2017 | 52.44% | 23.66% | 9.26% |
| 2016 | 52.14% | 23.53% | 9.56% |
Source: Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Dashboard; release schedule: quarterly
Greenhouse gas emissions
| Year | % Reduction |
|---|---|
| 2017 to 2018 | 44% |
| 2016 to 2017 | 35% |
Percentage reduction versus 2009 to 2010 baseline
Source: Greening Government Commitments annual reports; release schedule: annually
% of spend that is allocated to SME
| Year | Percentage of total spend |
|---|---|
| 2019/20 | 26.5% (target) |
| 2018/19 | 25% (target) |
| 2017/18 | 25.8% (actual) |
| 2016/17 | 22.6% (actual) |
Source: Central government spend with SMEs data; release schedule: annually
Public value framework
To support the delivery of our objectives, we will be improving our performance against the public value framework in the following areas: Understanding goals and degree of ambition; Cost control and quality of data and forecasts; User and citizen engagement, including public and taxpayer legitimacy
Our equality objectives
We have set objectives to help us advance equality. These are:
- Respond to serious violence and recent increases in knife crime, gun crime and homicide by implementing the serious violence strategy
- Introduce the domestic abuse bill, aimed at supporting victims and their families and pursuing offenders
- Improve the police response to hate crime and raise awareness of local support agencies for LGBT victims (as set out in the LGBT Action Plan 2018 and the Hate Crime Action Plan Refresh 2018-2020)
- Widen representation and build a talent pipeline of people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, people with disabilities, women, and lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals
- Attract, engage and retain people from a range of generations, faith and belief systems, gender identity and expression and socioeconomic backgrounds
- Make further progress in addressing the existing gender pay gap for women
- Work to ensure that public appointments made by the Home Office contribute to realising the ambition that, by 2022, 50% of all public appointees are female and 14% of all public appointments made are from ethnic minorities
Our finances
| £m | £bn | |
|---|---|---|
| Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) | 12095.44 | 12.10 |
| Resource DEL (including depreciation) | 11515.70 | 11.52 |
| Capital DEL | 579.73 | 0.58 |
| Annually Managed Expenditure (AME) | 2861.683 | 2.86 |
Control totals included in this document are in line with those presented in the Main Supply Estimates 2019/20 and are currently subject to Parliamentary approval. Any changes arising from the Parliamentary approval process will be reflected in due course.
Source: Main Supply Estimates 2019/20
Our people
As at 31 December 2018, the Home Office had 29,611.51 full-time equivalent employees. Source: ONS public sector employment data; Release schedule: quarterly