Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to response to the report of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration ‘An inspection of the Home Office’s operations to effect the removal of Foreign National Offenders’, published on 29 June, which described the Home Office’s data management system for criminal casework as “unacceptable”; what action they are taking to create an overarching strategy within the Home Office for the management of its casework system; and how they are working to build public trust in their overall management of illegal immigration into the UK in the light of the problems identified in the report.

The report acknowledges that many of the issues raised at the time of the inspection were already being addressed by the Home Office.

Work has already commenced to address concerns raised in the report. Since January 2023, casework resource has increased, with a dedicated Custodial Decision Team established to focus on ensuring decisions are made early in the process to drive up removals directly from prison. Ringfenced resource has been put in place to improve collaboration with Asylum and with the Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority, who consider Modern Slavery claims.

There is a wider strategy for improvement in Management Information being delivered as part of the transition to a new immigration caseworking system, including new workflow tools and modern data analysis capabilities.

Last year, under the Nationality and Borders Act (NABA) 2022, we expanded the early removal scheme for FNOs to allow them to be removed directly from prison from a maximum of 9 months to 12 months before the end of their custodial sentence. The Act also allows any FNO who receives a custodial sentence of 12 months or more to be disqualified from the recovery and reflection period available to victims of modern slavery.

We are going further to ensure that FNOs cannot frustrate their removal process. Our Illegal Migration Bill, which is currently passing through the House of Lords, proposes that the disqualification from protection for modern slavery victims applies to all FNOs who receive a custodial sentence of any length.