Home Office

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The Home Office is responsible for immigration, security and law and order. As such it is responsible for the police, fire and rescue services, visas and immigration and the Security Service (MI5). It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs, counter-terrorism and ID cards.

Policies: Immigration + passports, Drugs policy, Crime, Fire, Counter-terrorism, Police) agencies + public bodies

Cabinet Minister responsible for this dept is the Home Secretary (aka Secretary of State for the Home Office).

See also Airwave Solutions § Performance during the 2012 Summer OlympicsWikipedia-W.svg, Lendlease GroupWikipedia-W.svg, Northumberland Park, London § Redevelopment plansWikipedia-W.svg

People

Ministers

See Home Office § MinistersWikipedia-W.svg

Civil Servants

  • May.24.2018: Home Office official who advised Amber Rudd in Windrush row ‘demoted’. Hugh Ind, director general of #Immigration Enforcement, has been blamed for costing Amber Rudd her job. He is leaving the Home Office after 27 years, in an apparent demotion, and moving to the Cabinet Office in the next 3 weeks, to oversee the public sector Apprenticeships strategy. His sudden departure is seen in Westminster and Whitehall as a demotion after the Windrush scandal. Officials insisted that Mr Ind’s move to the Cabinet Office had nothing to do with the findings of the review. Richard Ford, The Times.
  • Patsy Wilkinson, the second permanent secretary, joined the department in 2016, with responsibility for immigration, borders and citizenship. Ref

Border, Immigration and Citizenship

Trying to find out where "Glyn Williams, Director General of Border, Immigration and Citizenship" fits in
The Home Office covers 3 systems: Homeland Security, Public Safety and Borders, Immigration and Citizenship. These systems work collaboratively to deliver our cross-cutting priorities, whilst providing increasingly efficient and secure services for the public. Gov.uk

  • Homeland Security
  • Public Safety and Borders
  • Immigration and Citizenship
    • Glyn Williams, Director General, Border Immigration and Citizenship System at the Home Office, Linked in
    • Border, Immigration Citizenship System Policy and Strategy Group (BICS PSG) Letter, Apr.28.2017
    • Glyn Williams, Director General at the Home Office. Williams is responsible for policy in the UK's Border, Immigration and Citizenship System, including the development of a post-EU exit immigration regime. He has also served in the Home Office as Director of Asylum Services and Director of Visa Services. He represents the U.K. at the European Asylum Support Office. Bloomberg, Jun.18.2017
    • Glyn Williams, Director General of Border Immigration & Citizenship System Policy and Strategy Group at the Home Office, Global Immigration Law Summit, May.14.2018
    • Home Office Immigration and Border Policy Directorate, Letter, Sept.08.2015, Letter, Aug.04.2015

High Profile Groups

HM Passport Office

Border Force

  • Apr.20.2019: It’s a dangerous myth we will have more control over borders post Brexit. The UK’s borders, even before Brexit, are in a shambolic state. Reports ... are frequently damning ... are often withheld by the Home Secretary until they can be effectively ’buried’ amidst other bad news. Freedom of movement will continue post-Brexit.. Chris Hobbs, The London Economic.

UK Visas and Immigration

  • Dec.11.2018: Home Office fails to suspend 'golden visa' scheme. Golden Visas: a Home Office spokesperson said: "The Tier 1 (Investor) visa is not currently suspended, however we remain committed to reforming the route. A further announcement will be made in due course". The Home Office refused to offer any further explanation. David Pegg, Jamie Grierson, The Guardian.
  • Dec.06.2018: Oligarchs hit as Home Office suspends ‘gold-plated’ visas. Golden Visas: Oligarchs and the super-rich wishing to come to Britain are to face new curbs as the govt suspends “gold-plated” investor visas from midnight. The move is part of a crackdown on organised crime and money laundering. The “Tier-1” investor visas give people who are willing to bring £millions to Britain a fast track to settlement in the country. Immigration minister Caroline Nokes said: “I have been clear that we will not tolerate people who do not play by the rules and seek to abuse the system.” Richard Ford, The Times. Linkback: Money Laundering
  • Jan.23.2018: Doctors blocked by Home Office from taking up vital NHS jobs. Recruits from overseas not being paid enough to satisfy immigration rules. Lisa O'Carroll, The Guardian.
  • Apr.2013: UKBA was superseded by UK Visas and Immigration, #Border Force and #Immigration Enforcement. ref
  • Apr.01.2008: UK Border Agency (UKBA) formed as an executive agency by a merger of the Border and Immigration Agency (BIA), UK Visas, and the Detection functions of HM Revenue and Customs. The decision to create a single border control organisation was taken following a Cabinet Office report. ToDo: see their page on archive.org re thier Corporate Partner Group etc. UK Border AgencyWikipedia-W.svg

National Asylum Support Service

The National Asylum Support Service was established in Apr.2000 under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, to provide a centrally funded service so that destitute asylum seekers were provided with accommodation and basic benefits outside the mainstream social security system. ref Previously, local authorities and the Department for Work and Pensions were responsible for the support and accommodation of asylum seekers. (WP)

Immigration Enforcement

Hugh Ind, Director General. Linked in profile

Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser

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Executive Non-Departmental Public Bodies

Disclosure and Barring Service

  • Jun.19.2018: Government challenges ruling finding criminal record disclosure system unlawful. Claimants include woman who shoplifted 99p book 20 years ago and has to disclose crime in job applications. The government is challenging a court ruling which said forcing people to disclose minor criminal convictions to employers violates human rights laws. The Disclosure and Barring Service was established in 2012 to provide details of a job applicant’s previous convictions to prospective employers. For certain types of work, such as with children or vulnerable adults, the standard or enhanced certificates issued by the DBS listed all the job applicant’s previous convictions until reforms in 2013 following another case against Greater Manchester Police. A “filtering” process meant single convictions for non-sexual offences which were not violent and did not lead to an immediate prison sentence, would not be disclosed after 11 years, or five-and-a-half years if the person was under 18. But the exemption does not apply if someone has more than one conviction, whatever the circumstances. A Public Accounts Committee inquiry accused the Home Office of running a “masterclass in incompetence” over its attempts to improve the DBS scheme after finding an IT modernisation programme was four years late and £229m over budget. Liberty is calling for the introduction of a more flexible system which considers individual circumstances in cases of old and minor convictions, and considers a person’s risk of harm. Unlock, a charity representing people with criminal convictions, is also intervening in the case. Lizzie Dearden, The Independent.
  • May.25.2018: Home Office squanders £229m in 'incompetent' outsourcing of criminal record checks upgrade. Modernisation of the Home Office#Disclosure and Barring Service branded 'masterclass in incompetence' in damning Commons report. The Home Office project to modernise the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) has been marred by poor planning, delays and spiralling costs after it was outsourced to a private consultancy, said the Public Accounts Committee. The programme is more than 4 years late and costs are expect overshoot its budget by £229m. In 2012, the govt contracted Tata Consultancy Services to design, build and run a new IT system that would modernise DBS and move its services away from a paper-based system. The project was expected to be completed by Jun.2014, but it was delayed from the start and the DBS was forced to extend a contact with its previous contactor, Capita, by two years. The modernisation is still not complete, while the expected total cost has soared from £656m to £885m. It is not clear when Tata now expects to complete the project and the PAC said there was “a strong risk that they may run out of time before the contract ends in March 2019”. Chris Baynes, The Independent.
  • May.25.2018: Home Office criticised for failures in reforms to criminal records vetting. The Home Office has been accused of running a “masterclass in incompetence” over its attempts to improve the criminal records checking scheme. Parliament’s public spending watchdog the National Audit Office said a programme to modernise the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) has been marred by poor planning, delays and spiralling costs. Disclosure and Barring Service revamp is 4 years late and £230m over budget, say MPs. In Oct.2012, the Home Office contracted Tata Consultancy Services to design, build and run a new IT system for DBS. The updated service was intended to allow employers to check whether there were any changes to the safeguarding information on a certificate since it was issued. But Tata has continued to make a £5m-a-year profit despite spending more than expected on the modernisation programme. Rajeev Syal, The Guardian.

Gangmasters & Labour Abuse Authority

gla.gov.ukArchive-org-sm.svg, gla.gov.uk GLAA

IOPC: Independent Office for Police Conduct

Handles complaints made against the police.

Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner

Security Industry Authority

The Security Industry Authority is the organisation responsible for regulating the private security industry in the UK. It is an independent body which reports to the Home Secretary. It was established in 2003, under the terms of the Private Security Industry Act 2001.ref

Advisory Non-Departmental Public Bodies

Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs

Animals in Science Committee

Biometrics and Forensics Ethics Group

Migration Advisory Committee

A non-departmental public body associated with the British Home Office. It was established in 2007. Professor Alan Manning is the current chair. It offers independent advice to the govt on immigration policy, and particularly on the Shortage Occupation List. When occupations are placed on this list, UK employers have less restrictions for recruiting candidates directly from overseas; specifically from outside the EU. They would no longer need to complete a residency test, which involves demonstrating that a search for suitable candidates within the UK in the first instance has been unsuccessful.

Police Advisory Board for England and Wales

Police Remuneration Review Body

Technical Advisory Board

Tribunal Non-Departmental Public Bodies

Investigatory Powers Tribunal

Office of Surveillance Commissioners

Police Discipline Appeals Tribunal

Independent Monitoring Body

Independent Anti-slavery Commissioner

Other Bodies

Biometrics Commissioner

The Commissioner for the Retention and Use of Biometric Material is an independent advisor to the govt regarding the use and retention of biometrics, including fingerprint data and DNA samples, by the government. The post was created by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, (Chapter 1, §.20).[1]

  • 2014: Alastair R. MacGregor QC.
  • Professor Paul Wiles, Feb.2017

College of Policing

x

Commission for Countering Extremism

Prevent Strategy

Forensic Science Regulator

x

Government Equalities Office

x

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services

Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration

x

Independent Family Returns Panel

x

Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation

x

Investigatory Powers Commissioner's Office

IPCO is responsible for overseeing the use of investigatory powers by public authorities which include law enforcement, the intelligence agencies, prisons, local authorities and other government agencies (e.g. regulators). The Commissioners are supported in this work by a body of civil servants – the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office.ref

  • Jan.19.2019: Home Office under fire for blocking new spy watchdog. Surveillance expert Eric King vetoed from top job at IPCO. King had previously director of the Don’t Spy On Us coalition, and deputy director of Privacy International. King tweeted: "It seems I have been refused clearance for a role holding the security and intelligence agencies to account, because of previous work holding those same agencies to account". Mark Townsend, The Guardian.
  • Jun.03.2018: UK spies ‘still share intelligence gained abroad by torture’. Britain’s spies stand accused of continuing to share intelligence obtained under torture, in breach of official guidance. ... Sir Mark WallerWikipedia-W.svg, then commissioner,found that GCHQ had failed to follow the guidance in 35 cases. ... then attorney-general Jeremy Wright said the govt had “enacted reforms to ensure that the problems of the past will not be repeated.” But Emily Thornberry and Shami Chakrabarti said the ISC report suggested that the Belhaj case was not an isolated one. The govt is currently reviewing the guidance after criticism from Waller and others. But human rights groups and politicians from all parties have concerns about the scope of the review. The Lib Dems, the SNP, Green MP Caroline Lucas and Ken Clarke, chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Extraordinary Rendition, all want the review to be a broad consultation with input from outside experts and organisations. Jamie Doward, The Guardian.

Interception of Communications Commissioner

x

National Counter Terrorism Security Office

CONTESTWikipedia-W.svg is split into four work streams that are known within the counter-terrorism community as the 'four P's': Prevent, Pursue, Protect, and Prepare. The "Prevent" strategy has provoked notable controversy.

PREVENT

  • Mar.27.2018: Far-right referrals to Prevent programme up by more than a quarter More than 965 people referred to counter-extremism programme in year to Mar.2017. The number of people referred to a UK government counter-extremism programme because of concerns about rightwing extremism has risen by more than a quarter, official figures show. Prevent, a voluntary programme, aims to divert people from terrorism before they offend. Public bodies such as schools and universities have a duty to report those they suspect are at risk of being radicalised. The programme is divisive, with some communities, such as those with predominantly Muslim backgrounds, feeling disproportionately and unfairly targeted. The security minister Ben Wallace said: “The Prevent programme is fundamentally about protecting people who are vulnerable to all forms of radicalisation and has stopped hundreds of individuals being drawn towards terrorism and violence. Jamie Grierson, The Guardian.

Research, Information and Communications Unit

National Crime Agency Remuneration Review Body

x

Surveillance Camera Commissioner

x

Campaigns

Serious Violence Strategy #knifefree

  • Mar.23.2018: Home Office launches anti-knife crime campaign. New #knifefree campaign challenges perceptions that carrying a knife is normal. The campaign forms part of the govt's forthcoming Serious Violence Strategy, which will set out action to tackle serious violence by placing new emphasis on steering young people away from crime while continuing to promote the strongest possible law enforcement approach. Home Office, Victoria Atkins MP, Gov.uk.
  • Mar.23.2018: Home Office uses real-life cases in #knifefree ad campaign. Attempt to reduce youth knife crime comes amid warnings of stabbing epidemic in London. The £1.35m Home Office campaign will target 10- to 21-year-olds on social media and digital TV channels. The ads, which will run for six weeks, are based on research which found that real-life stories of young people talking about their experiences with knives resonated with the target audience. They point young people to a dedicated website which provides advice, information on support services and activities aimed at empowering them to change their behaviour. Amber Rudd. Jamie Grierson, The Guardian.
  • Mar.23.2018: Home Office launches emotive £1.3m #KnifeFree campaign. The Home Office has launched a £1.3m campaign to reduce knife crime in England and Wales, tapping into three real-life stories to help raise awareness and bring the epidemic to a halt. The ads, which are the first creative to come out of recently-appointed agency FCB Inferno, aim to encourage young people to live a knife-free life. Jenny Cleeton, The Drum.

The Security Service

MI5 operates under the statutory authority of the Home Secretary, but it is not part of the Home Office.ref

MI5 is the UK's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency, and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and Defence Intelligence (DI). The service is directed to protect British parliamentary democracy and economic interests, and counter terrorism and espionage within the UK, and is bound by the Security Service Act 1989.
MI5 is directed by the Joint Intelligence Committee.

MI5 works with the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure with GCHQ. The provision of protective security for the critical parts of the UK’s national infrastructure is one of MI5’s main activities. The Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure carries out much of this work, and is accountable to the Director General of MI5.


  • Nov.02.2020: MI5 worked with undercover police to infiltrate Vietnam protests. The security service MI5 worked closely with undercover police officers for 40+ years to infiltrate the campaign against the Vietnam war. The Home Office–approved surveillance was initiated because the political establishment feared leftwing protest groups were challenging the status quo. Rob Evans, The Guardian.

Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure

CPNI aims to reduce the vulnerability of the national infrastructure to terrorism and other threats. The national infrastructure consists of key assets – physical and electronic – that are vital to the continued delivery and integrity of essential services such as energy, communications, transport and water. The national infrastructure faces threats from international and domestic terrorism, espionage and other hostile foreign activity. To counter these, CPNI provides authoritative expert advice to organisations across the national infrastructure, covering physical and personnel/people protective security. All the advice is informed by access to intelligence and information about the threats. CPNI works closely with the National Cyber Security Centre which provides advice on cyber security. MI5, What we do
Government policies that impact the work of CPNI include the National Security Strategy, National Risk Register and Counter Terrorism Strategy. CPNI in Context
Critical National Infrastructure: Critical elements of national infrastructure where loss or compromise would result in major detrimental impact on the availability, delivery or integrity of essential services, leading to severe economic or social consequences or to loss of life.

ToDo: The CPNI recommends joining (eg) the Security Institute, and has a section on CPNI Working with Security Professionals.

Policies

Policing

Emergency Services Network

  • Jan.20.2018: Emergency 999 mobile network faces crisis. A vital contract to expand mobile phone coverage for the emergency services is in crisis with work under way at only one out of around 300 locations where new masts need to be built. Kate Mumford, Yahoo News via The Telegraph.
  • May.25.2018: Home Office squanders £229m in 'incompetent' outsourcing of criminal record checks upgrade. Modernisation of Disclosure and Barring Service branded 'masterclass in incompetence' in damning Commons report. The PAC said it also had “serious concerns” about the implementation of the Emergency Services Network (ESN), the new communication system that will be used by the UK’s police, paramedics services and fire crews. The £1.2bn system, which has been contracted to EE, is scheduled to launch next year but in Feb. the committee criticised progress as “deeply unsatisfactory”. “On both DBS and ESN the Home Office appears either to have ignored or not fully understood the needs of the end user." Chris Baynes, The Independent.

References