Shabana Mahmood says Home Office ‘not fit for purpose’ after secret report on department emerges
Home Affairs Minister Shabana Mahmood said the Home Office was “not yet fit for purpose” after a secret report on the government department emerged.
Ms Mahmood vowed to radically overhaul her department’s staff, structure and culture, saying the findings were reported as follows: Times“it was all very familiar”.
The report identified a catalog of failures across the Home Office, claiming it was beset by a “culture of defeat” on immigration and “a sense that high rates of failure are an inevitable fact of life in the system”.
The dossier stated that “transmissions between immigration enforcement and other parts of the immigration system were weak, as were transfers with the police and criminal justice system.”
The report, written by former Home Office special adviser Nick Timothy, now a Conservative MP, was kept secret by the department for more than two years. obtained by Times After a legal battle.
Mr. Timothy wrote that too much time is spent on identity politics and social issues; for example, “listening circles” during work hours where civil servants discuss their feelings about social and political issues, including the policies they are responsible for enforcing.
The report states that the Home Office’s failures have worsened the small boat crisis and left ministers unable to implement their own policies.
Times The document notes how the immigration system consists of “many complex and conflicting systems working towards contradictory goals” and that as a result “enforcement of immigration laws is weak and has deteriorated significantly in recent years.”
One of Mr Timothy’s findings reportedly said: “There is a culture of defeat among civil servants and a sense that high failure rates are an inevitable fact of life in the system.”
Mr Timothy reviewed the Home Office’s effectiveness in 2023.
Ms Mahmood said the findings showed the department had not learned its lessons since her predecessor, Lord John Reid, branded it “not fit for purpose” almost 20 years ago.
In a statement, he said: “This report, written during the last government period, is damning. For those who have encountered the Ministry of Internal Affairs in recent years, these statements sound all too familiar.
“The Home Office is not yet fit for purpose and was set up to fail. As this report shows, the last Conservative government knew this but could do nothing about it.
“Things are changing now. I will work with the new permanent secretary to transform the Home Office to serve this country.”
Independent He approached the Home Office for comment. In a statement TimesIt was emphasized that the report was conducted during the previous government period.
He continued: “The home secretary and permanent secretary are making significant changes to the Home Office to inform the UK public that we will ensure the security of our borders, make our streets safer and protect our national security.”
