Policy paper

The Home Office response to the ICIBI's report on a re-inspection of Napier Barracks (March 2022)

Published 30 June 2022

This was published under the 2019 to 2022 Johnson Conservative government

The Home Office thanks the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) for this report and is grateful for the ICIBI’s engagement with customers, stakeholders, and officials who operate the Napier site.

The Home Office response to the recommendations

The Home Office should:

1. Develop or procure bespoke tools to manage and track the duration of a resident’s stay and the time taken to relocate vulnerable residents. The tool should be:

• hosted on a shared platform to allow Home Office, provider, and subcontractor staff to input real-time updates
• replicable across new accommodation centres when they are established.

1.1 Partially accepted

1.2 We commit to a review of our existing management tools and their application at Napier and across accommodation centres which will consider options on how to achieve the intention of the recommendation.

2. Review the policy and application of the suitability criteria for residents living at Napier to provide onsite staff with the flexibility to make informed and ethical decisions on whether residents, whose vulnerabilities are identified, should continue to be accommodated there.

2.1 Accepted

2.2 We accept the recommendation and will review the operation of the policy with a view to including a best interests test taking account of the views of the service user and onsite staff. A revised policy is expected to be in place by the end of June 2022 and will be read across to the operation of accommodation centres.

3. Implement an assurance regime to:

• ensure that residents’ personal information is shared between Home Office, provider, and subcontractor staff in accordance with the relevant data protection requirements
• ensure that right to work and DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks are conducted on provider and subcontractor staff

3.1 Accepted

3.2 We accept the recommendation. An internal review of data sharing with our provider concluded arrangements in place at the time of the first inspection and current arrangements comply with data regulations. Assurance checks are in place covering contractor staff and compliance with mandatory training on information handling and GDPR and now include physical inspection to ensure staff comply with statutory employment requirements. We are satisfied all provider and subcontractor staff meet the requirements to work at Napier.

4. Implement standard processes by which all residents:

• are transferred to Napier, to ensure they are provided with 24 hours’ notice of their transfer and information about the site in advance
• are transferred from Napier, to ensure they are provided with notification of their transfer and their full onward address 7 days in advance, and confirmed times for transportation to their new address.

4.1 Accepted

4.2 We accept the recommendation. We will produce pre-arrival information in the top ten languages informing service users of what to expect whilst living at Napier. In addition, we will work with our providers to standardise notice periods. We expect to be in a position to implement the recommendation by end June 2022 and will ensure the same approach is adopted by accommodation centres.