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| Home Office needs big increase in staff to deal with Brexit, MPs are told | Home Office needs big increase in staff to deal with Brexit, MPs are told |
| (4 months later) | |
| Former senior officials say ‘considerable increase in resources’ is required to avoid more mistakes in immigration decisions | |
| Alan Travis Home affairs editor | |
| Tue 10 Oct 2017 17.34 BST | |
| Last modified on Mon 27 Nov 2017 15.40 GMT | |
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| The Home Office will not be able to meet the challenges of Brexit without “a considerable increase in resources” over and above its current 6,500 staff, two former senior immigration officials have told MPs. | The Home Office will not be able to meet the challenges of Brexit without “a considerable increase in resources” over and above its current 6,500 staff, two former senior immigration officials have told MPs. |
| David Wood, the former head of Home Office immigration enforcement, told MPs at the Commons home affairs select committee, when asked directly by the chair, Yvette Cooper: “With current resources the challenges of Brexit cannot be met, certainly not smoothly.” Wood recalled the recent £100m cut to the UK Borders Agency budget, and warned that it would take at least six months to recruit and train new border officers. | David Wood, the former head of Home Office immigration enforcement, told MPs at the Commons home affairs select committee, when asked directly by the chair, Yvette Cooper: “With current resources the challenges of Brexit cannot be met, certainly not smoothly.” Wood recalled the recent £100m cut to the UK Borders Agency budget, and warned that it would take at least six months to recruit and train new border officers. |
| His judgment was supported by John Vine, the former chief inspector of borders and immigration, who told the MPs that a 10% error rate in “hostile environment” cases in which people had been denied bank or building society accounts was “a troubling percentage” and highlighted how complex decisions on immigration had “direct consequences for people living in our communities”. | His judgment was supported by John Vine, the former chief inspector of borders and immigration, who told the MPs that a 10% error rate in “hostile environment” cases in which people had been denied bank or building society accounts was “a troubling percentage” and highlighted how complex decisions on immigration had “direct consequences for people living in our communities”. |
| Vine added that it was not just about recruiting extra staff; they had to have the rights skills and be properly trained if quality error-free decisions were to be made. He warned the select committee that the post-Brexit registration of 3.6 million European Union citizens living in UK had “to be done properly” if they were to continue to feel part of society. | Vine added that it was not just about recruiting extra staff; they had to have the rights skills and be properly trained if quality error-free decisions were to be made. He warned the select committee that the post-Brexit registration of 3.6 million European Union citizens living in UK had “to be done properly” if they were to continue to feel part of society. |
| The committee also heard a call from a leading Tory Brexiter MP, Christopher Chope, for the registration of EU nationals in Britain to start immediately using existing EU powers. | The committee also heard a call from a leading Tory Brexiter MP, Christopher Chope, for the registration of EU nationals in Britain to start immediately using existing EU powers. |
| Wood told MPs that there was “a vacuum of knowledge” in relation to contingency planning by the Home Office in the event of no deal, but both he and Vine warned that “a considerable increase” in border force staff would be needed to carry out the required customs checks if Britain ended up outside the EU customs union. | Wood told MPs that there was “a vacuum of knowledge” in relation to contingency planning by the Home Office in the event of no deal, but both he and Vine warned that “a considerable increase” in border force staff would be needed to carry out the required customs checks if Britain ended up outside the EU customs union. |
| The Home Office has said EU nationals living in Britain will have a period of grace to register and apply for “settled status” after Brexit in March 2019, but will have to pass a five-year residence test, as well as criminality and identity checks. | The Home Office has said EU nationals living in Britain will have a period of grace to register and apply for “settled status” after Brexit in March 2019, but will have to pass a five-year residence test, as well as criminality and identity checks. |
| Wood admitted that the current immigration visa system was dealing with 40-60 cases a day and had only minutes to decide applications: “It is a sausage factory with low-grade staffing. That is the problem,” said the former immigration enforcement head, adding that without the resources to cope the well-publicised errors would only be compounded. | Wood admitted that the current immigration visa system was dealing with 40-60 cases a day and had only minutes to decide applications: “It is a sausage factory with low-grade staffing. That is the problem,” said the former immigration enforcement head, adding that without the resources to cope the well-publicised errors would only be compounded. |
| Both former senior immigration officials expressed the hope that the Home Office would use the opportunity of developing a new immigration system post-Brexit that included EU nationals to start afresh and consistently apply the rules at both the border and in issuing visas in advance. Wood suggested that newly available exit data should be used to introduce a differential visa system with “lighter touch” and less expensive visas for those nationalities with a good compliance rate. | Both former senior immigration officials expressed the hope that the Home Office would use the opportunity of developing a new immigration system post-Brexit that included EU nationals to start afresh and consistently apply the rules at both the border and in issuing visas in advance. Wood suggested that newly available exit data should be used to introduce a differential visa system with “lighter touch” and less expensive visas for those nationalities with a good compliance rate. |
| Both were also optimistic that technology could help with some of the problems of added pressure at the UK border after Brexit and could help avoid the imposition of a “hard border” with the Republic of Ireland. This could include the advanced online declaration of goods in the event of not remaining within the EU customs union. | Both were also optimistic that technology could help with some of the problems of added pressure at the UK border after Brexit and could help avoid the imposition of a “hard border” with the Republic of Ireland. This could include the advanced online declaration of goods in the event of not remaining within the EU customs union. |
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