Response to an inspection of the use of deprivation of citizenship
Updated 1 March 2024
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The Home Office response to the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration’s report: An inspection of the use of deprivation of citizenship by the Status Review Unit
April – June 2023
The Home Office thanks the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) for this medium inspection report of the use of the deprivation of citizenship power by the Status Review Unit.
The Home Office is pleased the report recognises the area works well and recognises the positive changes made since the last report. The ICIBI commented on good quality and defensible decisions.
The Department welcomes the ICIBI’s clear recommendations to support our ethos of continuous improvement.
The Home Office has accepted all four recommendations.
Recommendation 1
Data recording - Review mechanisms for recording case data to ensure that record keeping is consistent, quality assured, and it allows for proper analysis to inform planning.
Accepted
Improvements are timetabled for implementation on a wider IT transformation programme, in the meantime, all manual data is being reviewed and steps taken to ensure it is uniform and accurate.
Recommendation 2
Decision making – Implement a plan to manage the backlog of cases ‘on hold’ to ensure they are allocated and promptly case worked once ‘blockers’ are removed.
Accepted and partially implemented
Most cases are no longer ‘on hold’ and expected to be concluded within the next six-twelve months. Training for any cases still on hold will be created and rolled out in a timely manner so that once cases are unblocked, they can be allocated and cleared within six months.
Recommendation 3
Decision making - Conduct a review of benchmarks and work allocations for Executive Officer and Senior Executive Officer caseworkers to ensure that the Deprivation Team is managing its resources and outputs as efficiently and effectively as possible.
Accepted
Benchmarks were set some time ago and it is accepted that the team’s capabilities and development structures have improved so it is appropriate to conduct a review.
Benchmarks and processes will be independently reviewed to ensure they are set at an appropriate level over the next six months.
A review of the Senior Executive Officer’s role will be conducted with a view to ensuring that this resource is used to best effect over the next twelve months.
Recommendation 4
Training and Guidance - Review the resourcing and role specific training required by the training team to ensure they are equipped with the skills, knowledge, and resource to meet the needs of the department.
Accepted and partially implemented
Plans to increase business embedded training resource by making training a required task for some senior staff has already been put into place and more business embedded trainers will be sought.
We will invest in development opportunities for existing training staff and provide all support required to ensure consistent delivery of timely courses to meet the changing demands of the business.