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EXCLUSIVE from The Times
Shabana Mahmood has admitted the Home Office is 'not yet fit for purpose' after a secret report found it was dysfunctional, detached from reality and beset by a 'culture of defeatism' on immigration
The home secretary said the department had been 'set up to fail' and said the findings of the damning report were all too familiar. She vowed to radically overhaul its staff, structures and culture
Her comments come after the release of a highly critical report written by the former Home Office special adviser Nick Timothy, which the department attempted to keep secret for more than two years and was only released after a legal challenge by The Times
It identified a catalogue of failings across the department which has exacerbated the small boats crisis and left ministers unable to implement their own policies. Immigration enforcement officers, responsible for deporting illegal migrants, viewed their high failure rates as 'unavoidable in the system'
It found an overly 'defensive approach' among the Home Office’s lawyers, a reluctance by senior officials to tell 'difficult truths' to ministers, an optimism bias that led to wildly inaccurate financial forecasting and a general distrust by other departments that was directly hampering operational issues such as deportations
Timothy, who was given access to the department and officials during a two-month review of its effectiveness, said 'too much time is wasted' on identity politics and social issues.
That included 'listening circles' in working hours in which civil servants meet to discuss their feelings about social and political issues, including policies they were responsible for implementing.
Here's the section of the Timothy report on 'listening circles' at the Home Office and the culture of 'bringing your whole self to work'
'Too much time is wasted on what one official called the fashion of 'bringing your whole self to work'
'There are 'listening circles', in which civil servants meet to discuss their feelings about social and political issues, including even the implementation of government policies for which they are responsible such as the Rwanda scheme
'The number of staff representative bodies based on various sexual, racial or religious identities, the hours of staff time given to such work, and examples of training sessions about subjects such as "genderqueer" identities, also indicate a lack of focus
'I was given examples of how some members of staff have sought to police and dictate the actions of senior officials, for example by complaining about a failure to mark certain moments, news stories, or commemorative events
'This culture is counter-productive, contrary to the spirit of impartiality in the civil service, and divisive for those officials who feel unable to challenge the opinions of more strident colleagues. It risks undermining the authority of senior officials and distracts from the vital mission of the department. It should end.'
