Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration
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House of Commons Home Affairs Committee Appointment of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration Sixth Report of Session 2019–21 Report, together with formal minutes relating to the report Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 14 January 2021 HC 1024 Published on 19 January 2021 by authority of the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee The Home Affairs Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Home Office and its associated public bodies. Current membership Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP (Labour, Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford) Chair Rt Hon Diane Abbott MP (Labour, Hackney North and Stoke Newington) Dehenna Davison MP (Conservative, Bishop Auckland) Ruth Edwards MP (Conservative, Rushcliffe) Laura Farris MP (Conservative, Newbury) Simon Fell MP (Conservative, Barrow and Furness) Andrew Gwynne MP (Labour, Denton and Reddish) Adam Holloway MP (Conservative, Gravesham) Dame Diana Johnson MP (Kingston upon Hull North) Tim Loughton MP (Conservative, East Worthing and Shoreham) Stuart C. McDonald MP (Scottish National Party, Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) The following Members were also Members of the Committee during this Parliament: Janet Daby MP (Labour, Lewisham East); Stephen Doughty MP (Labour (Co-op) Cardiff South and Penarth); Holly Lynch MP (Labour, Halifax) Powers The Committee is one of the departmental select committees, the powers of which are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No 152. These are available on the internet via www.parliament.uk. Publications © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2021. This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament Licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/copyright. Committee reports are published on the Committee’s website at www.parliament.uk/homeaffairscom and in print by Order of the House. Evidence relating to this report is published on the inquiry publications page of the Committee’s website. Committee staff The current staff of the Committee are Simon Armitage (Committee Specialist), Melissa Bailey (Committee Operations Officer), Chris Battersby (Committee Specialist), Chloe Cockett (Senior Specialist), Elizabeth Hunt (Clerk), Penny McLean (Committee Specialist), George Perry (Senior Media and Communications Officer), Paul Simpkin (Committee Operations Manager), Dominic Stockbridge (Second Clerk) and Rowan Sweeney (Post-graduate placement student). Contacts All correspondence should be addressed to the Clerk of the Home Affairs Committee, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA. The telephone number for general enquiries is 020 7219 6856; the Committee’s email address is [email protected]. You can follow the Committee on Twitter using @CommonsHomeAffs. Appointment of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration 1 Contents Report 3 Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration 3 The recruitment process 4 Role and person specification 4 David Neal, the preferred candidate 5 Conclusion 6 Annex: Posts which are subject to pre-appointment hearings before the Home Affairs Committee 7 Appendix A: Correspondence between the Secretary of State and the Chair 8 Appendix B: Information provided by the Home Office about the preferred candidate and recruitment campaign 19 Appendix C: Curriculum vitae – David Neal 26 Formal minutes 29 Witness 30 Oral evidence: Pre-appointment hearing: Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration 31 List of Reports from the Committee during the current Parliament 48 Appointment of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration 3 Report Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration 1. The role of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) was established by the UK Borders Act 2007. The role is appointed by the Home Secretary and is independent of government. The Independent Chief Inspector has responsibility for monitoring and reporting on the efficiency and effectiveness of the UK’s immigration, asylum, nationality and customs functions. 2. The Independent Chief Inspector is authorised “to monitor, report on and make recommendations on all functions, with the exception of those exercised at removal centres, short-term holding facilities and under escort arrangements, unless the Home Secretary makes a direction to do so. The inspection of these parts of the immigration and borders system are inspected by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons or Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Constabulary (and equivalents in Scotland and Northern Ireland).”1 The ICIBI follows a published inspection plan, which the Home Secretary is consulted on. The Independent Chief Inspector is required in legislation to write a plan for an inspection, but the legislation also allows for the Independent Chief Inspector to diverge from the plan.2 The Home Secretary is also able to commission specific inspections. The Independent Chief Inspector is required to report in writing to the Home Secretary following an inspection, and accordingly produces reports after each inspection as well as an annual report. The Secretary of State is responsible for the publication of the reports and deciding when to lay them before Parliament. The reports are published in full, however the Secretary of State is permitted to make decisions to withhold material for reasons of national security, or where an individual’s safety may be jeopardised by publication. In these cases, the Secretary of State may leave out the relevant parts in the published report.3 3. The ICIBI’s purpose is “to help improve the efficiency, effectiveness and consistency of the Home Office’s border and immigration functions through unfettered, impartial and evidence-based inspection.”4 The ICIBI shares the Civil Service’s values of integrity; honesty; objectivity and impartiality and it has its own ‘Vision Statement’ which sets out that the ICIBI will: • “be highly-skilled, professional and effective, with a reputation for the highest standards of work and conduct • operate thorough, rigorous and transparent processes to reach sound, evidence- based conclusions • deal with others consistently and reliably • be efficient, forward-thinking, committed to continuous improvement and focused on delivery • enable and develop its people”.5 1 ICIBI, Annual Report for the period 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020, (September 2020), p.8 2 ICIBI, Annual Report for the period 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020, (September 2020), p.9 3 ICIBI, Annual Report for the period 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020, (September 2020), p.9 4 Gov.uk, ‘Independent Chief Inspector of Border and Immigration, About us’, accessed 11 December 2020 5 Gov.uk, ‘Independent Chief Inspector of Border and Immigration, About us’, accessed 11 December 2020 4 Appointment of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration 4. The budget for the ICIBI was £2.085 million in 2019–20. The budget is determined by the Home Secretary. It is then delegated to the Independent Chief Inspector through a formal letter of delegation, from the Home Office Second Permanent Under Secretary.6 There are currently 30 members of staff in the Chief Inspector’s team.7 The recruitment process 5. The campaign to recruit the next Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration was launched in May 2020. The initial closing date was 4 June 2020; however, Ministers extended the deadline by two weeks to enable more applicants to apply. The new deadline was 24 June 2020. The role was advertised across national media and in diversity related publications, such as diversity websites Vercida, Pink Shoe and In Touch Networks. 6. It was announced in November 2020 that the incumbent Independent Chief Inspector had agreed to continue in the role until his successor was appointed.8 Further information about the recruitment process provided to us by the Home Office is appended to this Report. Role and person specification 7. The role and person specification established by the Home Office for the role of Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration is as follows. Candidates were asked to demonstrate their skills and experience relating to criteria set out in Part One in their application form, with criteria from Parts One and Two being explored at interview: Part One – Essential skills and experience • Proven track record of leading an organisation, operating at Board level or equivalent, with associated financial and people management skills. • Demonstrable experience of the consistent delivery of excellent performance outcomes within a changing operational environment. • Evidence of contributing to the development of a sound strategic direction for an organisation. • Evidence of building strong and effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders, displaying sensitivity to their views and an ability to handle conflict diplomatically. • Evidence of the ability to analyse and make judgements from complex data and contribute to workable recommendations on complex and sensitive issues. • Evidence of the ability to gain respect and keep the confidence of key stakeholders including Ministers and senior government officials through effective communication and influencing skills (both oral and written). 6 ICIBI, Annual Report for the period 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020, (September 2020), p.36 7 Gov.uk, ‘Independent Chief Inspector of Border and Immigration, About us’, accessed 11 December 2020 8 Gov.uk, ‘Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration