Home Office ‘not fit for purpose’, Shabana Mahmood says after secret report reveals ‘culture of defeatism’
The secret report laid bare failings at the heart of the Home Office and was damning for the performance of officials
The Home Office is “set up to fail”, Shabana Mahmood has admitted after a secret report exposed an alleged “culture of defeatism” on immigration and other problems plaguing the department.
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The Home Secretary said the department is not yet “fit for purpose” as she vowed to radically overhaul the department’s staff, structures and culture following the scathing report.
The Home Office reportedly tried to keep the report , written by the former Home Office special adviser Nick Timothy, secret for over two years.
Mr Timothy, who is now a Conservative MP, pinpointed a series of alleged failings across the department, amid a worsening small boats crisis causing headache for ministers.
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Immigration enforcement officers, tasked with deporting illegal migrants, argued their failures were “unavoidable in the system”.
Ms Mahmood told The Times: “This report, written under the last government, is damning.
"To those who have encountered the Home Office in recent years, the revelations are all too familiar. The Home Office is not yet fit for purpose and has been set up for failure.
"As this report shows, the last Conservative government knew this but failed to do anything about it. Things are now changing.
"I will work with the new permanent secretary to transform the Home Office so that it delivers for this country.”
Among the conclusions in the two-year old report were:
- The immigration system is being hamstrung by "several confused and conflicting systems working to contradictory ends".
- Enforcement of immigration law is "poor and has grown considerably worse in recent years".
- There is a "culture of defeatism" among immigration officers which sees the possibility of legal challenges as a reason not to do something.
- Officials were being forced to rely on memory for key information - with Excel spreadsheets used in "inadequate recordkeeping" in department.
- After the Windrush scandal, other departments showed distrust of the Home Office which hampered processes.
- Key officials continued working from home even during crises.
Mr Timothy also concluded: “Senior officials often know too little about the operational reality to adequately inform and advise ministers.
“In turn ministers find it difficult to trust the system to do the things it says it will. Officials then over-compensate by not wishing to tell difficult truths or by providing advice that is overly optimistic, compounding the problem with trust."
Timothy said this “feedback loop” makes success “far less likely".
A senior Home Office source pointed to the role of Antonia Romeo, who took over as permanent secretary in April after a spell at the Ministry of Justice, as key to getting the department “match fit”.
“She formed a formidable partnership with … [Shabana] Mahmood at the Ministry of Justice and will energise the Home Office to deliver for ministers and the country," the source told the Times.
The Home Office said: “This report was conducted under a previous government.”
It added: “The Home Secretary and Permanent Secretary are making significant changes to the Home Office to deliver for the UK public to secure our borders, make our streets safer and protect our national security.”