Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the impact of IT issues in her Department on the production of Biometric Resident Permits since 1 January 2023.

The incidences of technical issues preventing Biometric Resident Permit (BRP) card production are low. Where issues are encountered operational case working teams and IT Support endeavour to resolve the issue swiftly without any adverse impacts for the customer.

For the very small proportion of cases that could not be resolved immediately, the Employer Checking Service (ECS) and Landlord Checking Service (LCS) are available to provide support to customers to verify their immigration status and permission to work and rent properties in the UK.

Longer term, the Home Office is developing a border and immigration system which will be digital by default. The ambition is to phase out physical documents, such as BRP’s, before the end of 2024 as we move towards a system of online evidence of immigration status (eVisas).