Policy paper

The Home Office response to the Independent Chief Inspector’s report: A short inspection of reporting events at Becket House Reporting Centre

Published 20 October 2021

This was published under the 2019 to 2022 Johnson Conservative government

Introduction

The Home Office thanks the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) for his report on the short inspection of Becket House Immigration Reporting Centre.

We welcome the overall findings and are pleased that the inspection observed that staff at Becket House were polite and respectful in their engagement with reportees. We accept the findings and feel that more could be done to ensure that interactions are meaningful and vital information is collected and in relation to the environment, we agree with the suggestion that Immigration Enforcement could make some improvements to the general aesthetics of the waiting area and information services provided.

The Home Office accepts the ICIBI’s recommendations:

Response to recommendations

Recommendation 1

The Home Office should revisit the purpose and scope of a reporting event to ensure information is proactively and routinely collected and recorded.

1.1 Accepted.

1.2 Manage Reporting Appointments (MRA) is an appointment triage capability which provides the officer with an instant response as to whether an intervention is required or the reportee can leave the centre with no further action. It enables staff to triage individuals effectively and efficiently by reducing manual activity. This allows reporting centre staff to spend their time more effectively on planned interventions that further help achieve wider IE strategic goals.

1.3 Reporting and Offender Management (ROM) teams now have the time to have more detailed and targeted conversations with those reporting to progress their cases and assess their personal circumstances and any vulnerabilities. Since April 2021, 3264 planned interventions have been completed by ROM Centres around the UK. The automated system has reduced the initial reporting transaction times from 6-8 minutes to around twenty seconds and has significantly reduced excessive queue times. Feedback from those who report has overall been extremely positive.

1.4 We accept that the behaviours witnessed at the counter were not entirely in line with our internal processes and we will take steps to educate and remind staff of the correct procedures on new addresses and the need to be aware of behaviours displayed by those reporting when protecting the safeguarding and vulnerabilities of those we deal with within the centres.

1.5 Prior to the Inspection taking place, Immigration Enforcement commissioned an internal review of reporting processes to examine how the roles and aims of reporting meet the wider strategic aims of the Department. This review due to conclude in late October will be carried out as part of our proposed transition to blended reporting events and as part of our wider on-going contact management strategy. This will include an evaluation of face to face reporting, electronic monitoring and subject to successful trials, telephone and digital reporting in the future.

Recommendation 2

The Home Office should ensure that Becket House reporting centre meets the infrastructure general provisions as set out in the guidance, and furthermore, look to improve the overall service user experience, including but not limited to:

a. ensuring signage and posters are up to date and include the correct Home Office branding

b. ensuring all countertop equipment works correctly, including the dual way intercom system, and remove decommissioned or extraneous equipment

c. improving the overall condition and appearance of the waiting area

d. ensuring there is an adequate complaints procedure in place with easily accessible forms, appropriate signage and a complaints box available in the waiting area

2.1 Partially Accepted.

2.2 The current lease on Becket House will end in May 2022 so expenditure is limited to cosmetic and light-touch improvements. This would explain some of the concerns raised by inspectors relating to the aesthetics in the reporting centre. In the remaining years of our tenure and to protect the public purse, we have had to consider any proposed investment very carefully. Mindful of the limited tenure at Becket House we do not propose extensive remedial work. However, we acknowledge the two areas of concern raised in the ICIBI report and we will improve the public areas by refreshing the paint and ensuring maintenance is undertaken where necessary.

2.3 Since the inspection, Immigration Enforcement made further checks of the intercom system at Becket House to ensure its operability and can confirm that it is working but due to the reduced requirement to use it with current numbers, reporting staff had forgotten how to use it correctly. Staff have been reminded of the correct way to use it and how to report faults if necessary. Material with obsolete branding has been removed from the waiting areas and a full review of information displayed across all ROM sites has been commissioned. Complaints forms have been temporarily removed from public areas as part of our COVID-19 response but we have made arrangements for adequate signage, to advise reportees and visitors that all forms are available but stored behind the counter until such time as products can be made generally available in the public area.