Complaints Audit Committee of the UK Border Agency
Chair: Dr Ann Barker
Telephone: 020 7963 0962 Mobile: 07855 866 326 Email:  annbcbarker@aol.com


PRESS RELEASE EMBARGOED UNTIL 10.30 AM 16TH DECEMBER 2008

PUBLICATION OF THE UK BORDER AND IMMIGRATION AGENCY
COMPLAINTS AUDIT COMMITTEE ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2007/2008

Introducing their third and last report to the Home Secretary, the Complaints Audit Committee commended the UK Border and Immigration Agency for accepting most of their recommendations over the past three years and for instituting major changes in the way the Agency handles complaints. “However, we are concerned that serious problems remain unresolved and reduce the impact of these changes substantially,” observed Dr Ann Barker, Chair of the CAC.

“We salute the Border and Immigration Agency for addressing one of our major concerns over the past three years by creating a small team of properly trained investigators to handle allegations of serious misconduct and to work with the IPCC in the event of serious injury. This team is now transparently independent of contractors employed by the Agency to escort, detain and remove failed asylum seekers, and is making contractors accountable for human rights abuses.

Quality assurance remains a significant problem. This year the percentage of duplicate, cancelled and withdrawn files has hovered around 10%. While this figure is lower than last year’s 20%, it means that data integrity continues to be weak and that management cannot rely upon complaints information to learn about problems and hotspots and to allocate resource appropriately to improve service delivery.

We welcome the appointment of John Vine as Chief Inspector of Immigration. Among the most pressing challenges identified in this report is the need to transfer from the CAC to the Chief Inspector the provision of independent oversight of investigations into allegations of abuse of police-like powers by officials arresting failed asylum seekers. Searching premises, seizing documents and searching arrested people are high-risk activities requiring vigilant monitoring when things go wrong.

At the Minister’s direction we proposed a system of informal resolution as a proportionate means of handling the high volume of minor, low risk misconduct complaints. The key element of this system is the engagement of the complainant in the resolution of the complaint from the beginning. The Agency’s decision to drop the requirement to interview complainants and work out a plan of action without them means that the complainant’s voice is not heard, resources are wasted and the Agency’s aspiration to become customer-focused is thwarted,” Dr Barker concluded.

The report will be available after 10:30 on 16th December 2008 at:  http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/aboutus/workingwithus/indbodies/cac/

For comment contact the CAC Chair, Dr Ann Barker, on 020 7963 0962 or 07855 866 326.

Members: Paul Acres (former Chief Constable Hertfordshire);
Ram Gidoomal CBE (Chair, Employability Forum)