One step forward, two steps back: Evaluating the institutions of British immigration policymaking

Article

This paper explores four key issues affecting the ability of British immigration policy and administration bodies to do - and to be seen to do - a good job.

Naturally, it focuses on the Home Office and the UK Border Agency, raising a number of questions that are still to be answered following the announced abolition of UKBA in March.

The key issues addressed are:

  • The Home Office's monopoly on immigration policymaking, even though it is a cross-cutting issue with impacts and implications for almost every department in Whitehall
  • The 'culture of caution' that threatens to suffocate the Home Office
  • The confused structure and poor communication that led the Home Office and UKBA to operate as almost completely separate organisations, widening the gap between policy and implementation
  • The tension between evidence-based policymaking and political demands, which undermines the ability of researchers and policymakers to make effective use of evidence to inform and support their decisions.

The author, doctoral researcher Erica Consterdine, conducted 51 interviews with current and former MPs and ministers, employers and employer associations, trade unions, NGOs, thinktanks and experts in the field, and civil servants, which informed and illustrate this paper.

Related items

  1. A mother and child from behind looking out of a window

    Hidden hardships: The immigration system and child poverty

    Child poverty remains a persistent and deeply rooted issue in the UK. 
  2. A diverse group of children sit in a colourful nursery setting, clapping along with the childminder

    Every child is equal: Bridging the childcare gap for families with no recourse to public funds (NRPF)

    Migrant families subject to the no recourse to public funds (NRPF) condition are prevented from accessing most forms of support with childcare costs, including the expanded entitlement for working parents.

  3. Grangemouth after the refinery: lessons from history in how we make a just transition real

    Making sure support mechanisms are in place for workers at the Grangemouth refinery, and for anyone else in employment across Scotland, is crucial.