1. Status of the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) and its financial provision

The Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) has the status of an executive non-departmental public body established by statute. The Secretary of State for the Home Office is answerable to Parliament for the IAA and is responsible for making financial provision to meet its needs. The IAA Commissioner is a Corporation Sole.

2. Sources of income

There are only three main sources of income across the IAA:

2.1 Registration fees

On application to become a registered organisation, a fee must accompany the application. The amount is dependent on the level of advice intended to be given, and for a level 2 or 3 application, the number of prospective advisers.

The scale of fees is set by Statutory Instrument 2011 No. 1366: The Immigration Services Commissioner (Application Fee) Order 2011.

There is no express power to refund fees in respect of withdrawn or unsuccessful applications, and the Home Office advises that refunds will only be made in exceptional circumstances. Payments can only be made by BACS and cheques.

2.2 Continued registration fees

These fees relate to applications for those advisers applying at the same levels, and categories for which they are currently authorised, and when organisations wish to raise its authorised level of advice or extend their authorised categories of work.

2.3 Court fees – S91

Following a successful court action, the IAA may be awarded costs which must be remitted back to the Home Office on a quarterly basis, when received. Where a chargeable cost occurs, a debtor invoice (prosecution costs) is raised and both the income due and the debtor is recognised in the IAA accounts.

Where it is clear that amounts due may not be recovered by the end of the financial year, a provision is made in the annual accounts recognising this by recording a bad or doubtful debt provision.

The provision is recorded on a case by case basis in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). A ‘case’ could be one invoice in respect of a court cost or a group of invoices for the same adviser that is related on different court costs and are being written off at the same time for the same reason.

In general, except for grant-in-aid, income received by the IAA is required to be paid to the Home Office on a quarterly basis.

3. Grant-in-aid

The IAA is fully funded by grant-in-aid received from the Home Office Resource (Programme).

All other income received by the IAA is paid to the Home Office and does not offset, and has no direct effect, upon the IAA’s annual budget.

IAA operates within a new Framework Document replacing the Management Statement and Financial Memorandum. Grant-in-aid is received from the Home Office on a monthly basis on submission of a grant-in-Aid drawdown application to the sponsor unit to deliver against the IAA aims and objectives under statute.