March 26, 201312 yr The civil servant in charge is moving to Inland Revenue to to the same as they did to the UKBA ie screw it all up
March 26, 201312 yr Author The civil servant in charge is moving to Inland Revenue to to the same as they did to the UKBA ie screw it all up Starbucks will be pleased then.
March 26, 201312 yr It is not the UKBA at fault but the overpaid incompetent heads of departments (civil servants) and government ministers to blame.
March 26, 201312 yr I'm confused is this the same UKBA that Immigration Minister - Mark Harper claimed was continuing to provide a world class service back on the 25th Feb when he justified the increase in fee's
March 27, 201312 yr It was the previous head of the UKBA, Lin Homer, who was promoted and moved to the HMRC. Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app theoldgit
March 27, 201312 yr Author I'm confused is this the same UKBA that Immigration Minister - Mark Harper claimed was continuing to provide a world class service back on the 25th Feb when he justified the increase in fee's It is going to take 24 years to clear the back log of immigration cases, at least 5 Parliaments. Hell somebody will probably walk on the surface of Mars before the British Government clears the backlog of immigration cases.
March 27, 201312 yr How will this affect visa applications currently with the UKBA? Or will it not? It will not affect current applicants, the same as it didn't when the UKBA moved from the main Home Office and became an Agency under Lin Homers tenure. The changes will mainly be in the management structure, accountability and future legislation. Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app theoldgit
March 27, 201312 yr How will this affect visa applications currently with the UKBA? Or will it not? It will not affect current applicants, the same as it didn't when the UKBA moved from the main Home Office and became an Agency under Lin Homers tenure. The changes will mainly be in the management structure, accountability and future legislation. Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app As quoted in the Metro this morning In a leaked memo to home office staff, permanent secretary Mark Sedwill said when the UKBA is shut down employees will "still be doing the same job in the same place, for the same boss"
March 27, 201312 yr The UKBA are unfit for purpose in terms of quality of service (visa processing times etc). The worry is that they are IMO less unfit for purpose than the previous situation where they were part of the Home Office! At least with the UKBA there has been a clear organisation that can be targeted for complaints! Unless proper funding together with good management are forthcoming the standards will continue to be poor but failings may be easier to hide within the Home Office!
March 27, 201312 yr I do wonder how much of the problem with the UKBA is work load versus resources? Under the current climate I can also see more political meddling once it is not at arms length from politicians!
March 27, 201312 yr The IND ( immigration & nationality dept.) which had responsibility for most of the postwar period was starved of resources at a time when it came under attack from the bogus asylum phenomenon in the mid eighties onwards. The explosion in air travel and the free movement of folk hitherto bound to their poverty in their own countries simply added to the burdens exacerbated by the fall of the Berlin Wall. Resources were finally poured into the organisation in 2000 onwards but by that time it was simply too late. The signing up to the EHRC was the nail in the coffin of removals and the expansion of EU Accession states incorporating the worst of Europe where per capita income was equivalent to any third world country ultimately made any previous legislation utterly redundant. The changes since then, the Border & Immigration Agency, the UK Border Agency, the Border Force and now the..........whatever it will be called is simply bad government organising deck chairs on the Titanic. Unfortunately, it has coincided with a government now which in an attempt to curry favour with the gormless British public has reduced the effectiveness of the organisation by cutting expenditure to the point of imbecility. Tories really are as incompetent as Labour. It's a mess but one that was, is and will be because of piss poor politicians.
March 28, 201312 yr The previous government introduced the exorbitantly high visa and leave to remain fees (way above cost in most cases) so that the UKBA could be self financing; but then decided that most of that money wont stay with the UKBA, it goes into the general exchequer. The previous government also re branded the IND as the UKBA. This had absolutely no effect on the organization's efficiency. I wonder how much all the new signs, stationary, web pages etc. cost then, and how much it will cost this time! As for the UKBA staff at the sharp end, I am reminded of the comment about the British army attributed to the German High Command during the First World War; lions led by donkeys. BTW, Kevin, the massive backlog is, I understand, in processing asylum cases, not visa and LTR ones.
March 28, 201312 yr They can't even deal with this guy, who will probably be in UK for life with 24/7 surveillance costing millions a year! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2299862/Abu-Qatada-life-Judges-admit-hes-dangerous-wont-kick--HIS-human-rights-come-first.html
March 28, 201312 yr I don't want to comment on the rights and wrongs of the case; except to say that it has nothing to do with the UKBA! The government and Home Office want to deport him, it is the High Court who has said they can't. I expect the government to appeal. But it has nothing to do with this topic.
March 28, 201312 yr I don't want to comment on the rights and wrongs of the case; except to say that it has nothing to do with the UKBA! Fair enough ‘If we had made clear that we rejected Strasbourg’s ruling – and meddling – on principle at the outset, the UK Border Agency could have deported Qatada without the UK courts stopping them.’
March 28, 201312 yr The opinion of a backbench MP which, if true, only confirms that it is the courts who are blocking his deportation, not the UKBA.
March 28, 201312 yr Last year, Mrs May announced that the UK Border Force - responsible for day-to-day operations - would stop being part of the agency and become a separate law-enforcement body. Management tactics: we first create a dummy body and see how this goes, before we unleash the real beast.
March 28, 201312 yr UK Border Agency to be abolished, Theresa May announces May says agency will be split in two with separate immigration and law enforcement services under direct control of ministers Alan Travis, home affairs editor guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 26 March 2013 15.34 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/mar/26/uk-border-agency-broken-up
March 28, 201312 yr Nonsensical post and response removed. Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app theoldgit
June 25, 201312 yr I'm confused is this the same UKBA that Immigration Minister - Mark Harper claimed was continuing to provide a world class service back on the 25th Feb when he justified the increase in fee's And is it the same Mark Harper MP who has fallen of a table while dancing in a London, Soho bar and broken his foot? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-23036325
June 25, 201312 yr I'm confused is this the same UKBA that Immigration Minister - Mark Harper claimed was continuing to provide a world class service back on the 25th Feb when he justified the increase in fee's And is it the same Mark Harper MP who has fallen of a table while dancing in a London, Soho bar and broken his foot? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-23036325 well spotted Basil B
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