Tue 26th March 2013,   Julian Huppert. Liberal Democrat MP for Cambridge, wrote: 

On Monday the Home Affairs Select Committee published yet another damning report of the UK Border Agency. We found that, in addition to the half million undetermined immigration and asylum cases, UKBA were failing to deal with new immigration cases. It is no wonder that immigration is consistently identified as one of the biggest issues facing the UK if the Agency established by Labour cannot tell us who is in the country, who should be here and who should not.

The backlog started in the 90s, but in response Labour put the whole border control operation at arm’s length. They ended exit checks and pushed control of our borders away from the Home Office. Not only did that fail to deal with the existing cases, it created a completely unaccountable system which has consistency misled Parliament and the public.

The immense system created by Labour was uncaring, uncompromising and utterly ineffectual. We’ve always said that to deal with immigration and asylum – and the public’s concerns – you have to start with the very basics. Keeping track of who is leaving, as well as entering. Dealing with asylum and immigration applications in a timely and humane way. Making sure those who have a right to be here can be here, and making sure those who don’t have a right to be here are dealt with. It’s simple stuff. Successive Governments – particularly the last Labour Government – have got it tragically wrong.

Since entering Government Ministers have been trying to deal with the backlog. We’re doing what we’ve always called for, and reintroducing exit checks. But no matter how hard Ministers and the Home Affairs Committee have scrutinised and criticised, the Agency has failed. On Tuesday we called time on UKBA. Functions will be moved closer to Ministers and closer to scrutiny. The enforcement activity – getting rid of people who clearly shouldn’t be here – will be separated from the vital task of processing visas and urgent asylum applications. This is not a panacea. We need to change the culture of our Border Agency, we need a new framework for processing applications and we need staff who are properly trained and guided.

There is a lot of work to do to get it right. But the recognition in Government that UKBA is at the heart of our immigration woes is a long-standing Lib Dem aim, and now it is our Government policy. Exit checks, better scrutiny and new structures for determining applications. We have an opportunity to get this right, and to build confidence in our immigration system. Immigration is vital for a stronger economy, a workable border agency is vital for a fairer society. We’re achieving both.