Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to improve scrutiny of the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner; and what steps her Department takes to monitor the performance of immigration advisers.

The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Home Office.

Under the provisions of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, immigration advisors (other than those who are members of the legal profession and regulated by their professional body) are regulated by the Immigration Services Commissioner to ensure they are fit and competent and act in the best interest of their clients.

The OISC works in line with a Framework Agreement between the Commissioner and the Home Office, which, along with its annual reports and accounts, are published on the website of the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner.

The OISC’s overall performance, including on prosecutions, is reviewed on a regular basis by the Home Office.