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Home Office

Answer

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the right hon. Member for Caernarfon (Mr. Wigley) of 20 July 1998, Official Report, column 380, on asylum seekers, if he will list the more efficient working practices referred to in the answer; and if the plans for computerisation of casework are those plans in respect of which the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State undertook to write to the hon. Member for Hertsmere in his answer of 7 May, Official Report, column 452. [52222] Mr. Mike O'Brien: [holding answer 27 July 1998]: We have in hand organisational changes in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, which will result in a new Integrated Casework Directorate. This will handle the casework currently dealt with in five separate Directorates. We will get rid of the present hierarchical system of decision-making, in which wasteful duplication often causes delay. We will devolve decision-making to the appropriate level, in teams which will deal with a case from start to finish. The teams will be fully supported by up-to-date information and we will have in place quality assurance mechanisms to audit decisions. We are well on the way to establishing this new Directorate. A pilot of the working methods will start in August. The computerisation plans referred to in my answer to the right hon. Member for Caernarfon of 20 July are the same plans about which I undertook to write to the hon. Member for Hertsmere in my answer of 7 May. We still await proposals from Siemens Business Services for completing the next stage of the computerisation; the company has indicated that these will be available by 28 August.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

52222; 317 c387-8W

Session

1997-98

Subjects

Asylum Applications Computers Administrative delays ICT Immigration Refugees