Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what functions the office of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders is able to undertake while the post of Independent Chief Inspector is vacant.

The office of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration has a clear plan of work, comprising of inspection activity, pre-inspection scoping activity, and non-inspection/corporate work that can continue whilst the post remains vacant.

A new Chief Inspector will be appointed in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. A recruitment campaign is underway, and an appointment will be made as soon as practically possible.