Immigration-Border Controls Fiasco

 

 

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Rob Whiteman Chief Executive – UK Border Agency (UKBA) (Common Purpose Member)

The UK Border Agency (UKBA) WAS the border control agency of the UK government and part of the Home Office.

It was formed as an executive agency on 1 April 2008 by a merger of the Border and Immigration Agency (BIA), UKvisas and the Detection functions of HM Revenue and Customs.

The decision to create a single border control organisation was taken following a Cabinet Office report which reported existing systems were not fit for purpose.

Rob Whiteman, (Common Purpose) was appointed Chief Executive in September 2011.

Over 23,000 staff worked for the agency, in over 130 countries.

It was divided into four main operations, each under the management of a senior director: operations, immigration and settlement, international operations and visas and law enforcement.

The agency came under formal criticism from the Parliamentary Ombudsman for consistently poor service, a backlog of many hundreds of thousands of cases, and a large and increasing number of complaints.

In the first nine months of 2009–10, 97% of investigations reported by the Ombudsman resulted in a complaint against the agency being upheld.

The complainants were asylum, residence, or other immigration applicants.

On 26 March 2013, following a scathing report into the agency’s, (poisoned culture and flawed leadership bordering on incompetence) by the Home Affairs Select Committee, it was announced by Home Secretary Theresa May that the UK Border Agency would be abolished and its work returned to the Home Office.

Its executive agency status was removed as of 31 March 2013 and the agency was split into two new organisations;

1. UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) focusing on the visa system.

2. An Immigration Enforcement Organisation, (IEO) focusing on immigration law enforcement, previously known as the, “Border Force”.

The Interim Director Generals of the two organisations have been appointed.

Sarah Rapson will bring her customer-focus experience that she gained from the Identity and Passport Service to (UKVI).

David Wood, an experienced ex-Police Officer and former Director of Operations of the (UKBA), will head up IE.

We are told to expect a tough, hard-line command that will see the strict application of the UK’s immigration laws (which are only going to get stricter!)

March 2013. Rob Whiteman moved sideways to a much smaller job, (but with the same salary) as Director General, Operational Systems Transformation at the Home Office.

June 2013. Rob Whiteman appointed Chief Executive of CIPFA, (Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy). It is the professional body for people in public finance. So he falls on his feet.

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmselect/cmhaff/781/121127.htm
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmselect/cmpubacc/c550-i/uc55001.htm
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/10114217/Immigration-chief-system-may-never-be-fixed.html
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmpubadm/uc229-ii/uc22901.htm
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/10118384/Teflon-civil-servants-who-never-feel-the-heat.html

So there you have it. Rob Whiteman, (Common Purpose) rewarded for incompetence. Another reason to vote, “Yes” to independence in September. Many millions of taxpayers money flushed down the drain and many hundreds of thousands of immigrants in the UK without government knowledge. Disaster right enough.

Universal Credit Fiasco

The Universal Credit debacle- Robert Devereux- United Kingdom Permanent Secretary of the Department for Work and Pensions

Robert Devereux is the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Work and Pensions. A government organisation with 100,000 staff, operating from nearly 1000 sites, with some 22 million customers, and an annual budget – in terms of money spent on pensions and other benefits – of £160 billion. He believes there are four crucial qualities in public servants namely, Confidence, Openness, Resilience and Leadership.

The Con/Dem Coalition Government decided upon a radical reform of the UK’s welfare system, aiming to reduce worklessness, and make work pay, and at the same time improving the support available for both disabled people and pensioners. Delivering these reforms, would be an enormous leadership challenge.

There’s history here. The Labour government led by Tony Blair & Gordon Brown wasted many millions of taxpayers money presiding over the introduction of the, “tax credit” system. Blame for the disastrous out of control project had been placed with the, “civil service” . One government minister likened, “Whitehall” to the set of a disaster movie.

With the foregoing in mind one wonders what, “bright spark” ever thought the department could successfully introduce a fundamental change in the benefits system titled, “Universal Credit”. Well we have his name, “Ian Duncan Smith”. Having assessed the tools to hand, namely Robert Devereux and his management team Ian was persuaded the project, whilst complex could be implemented within the timescales and other parameters outlined. So off they went, with a pot-load of taxpayers money, (anyone minded of the 7 dwarfs at this point). Well a couple of years later, way beyond the completion date, with nothing in the pipeline the National Audit Office, (NAO) decided to have a wee gander, just to guide Westminster that satisfactory progress was being made and financial expenditure was within prescribed limits.

“Shock and Horror”. The adverse report on, “Universal Credit” made for difficult reading with a focus more on the day-to-day operations of the department than on the decision-making at the top. It described a “fortress” mentality within the team and a “good news” culture, where officials avoided telling ministers about problems. It said the department used unfamiliar methods to implement the reform, and that there was a “lack of a detailed plan”.

All fingers pointed to Robert Devereux, the Department’s Permanent Secretary, as the bad tool. A government minister said, “You have a permanent secretary who seemed not to know what he was doing and was not willing to admit it and appallingly badly negotiated contracts with suppliers, which you would not expect”.

The project was halted so that the NAO, Ian Duncan Smith and the project team would be able to take stock before deciding the way forward, if indeed the project could be salvaged. After a deal of discussion, and appointment of a team of highly paid external experts. It was decided the project would be RESET and started again.(RESET: write off all before and start again). Reset costs projected at £2.5billion but not yet confirmed. Could be much higher.

Poor Ian Duncan Smith. He had to report the fiasco back to the commons. In his statement he suggested that he had lost faith in the ability of civil servants to deliver the behemoth project adding bitterly, “When I arrived, I expected [to find] the professionalism to be able to do the job properly.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/10288977/The-Universal-Credit-debacle-is-the-fault-of-the-Civil-Service-not-Iain-Duncan-Smith.html
http://unemployedtynewear.wordpress.com/2014/08/21/dwp-denies-urging-staff-to-vote-no-in-scottish-independence-referendum/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-28861227
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/aug/19/universal-credit-failings-pac-accuses-dwp
http://www.civilserviceworld.com/interview-robert-devereux/
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/exclusive-top-mandarin-hits-back-at-iain-duncan-smith-over-universal-credit-smears-8960874.html

The Cost to the Taxpayer of Ian Duncan Smith’s Peerage – £2.5 Billion Plus Many Dead Bodies the Consequence of his Many Botched Schemes Imposed on the Sick and Needy

 

 

 

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Some of Tory Government Minister Ian Duncan Smiths Achievements

Expenditure on temporary staff: Up 91% year.

Expenditure on private consultants: Up 59% year.

Expenditure on a private contractor to complete botched fitness for work assessments: £60million.

Expenditure on IT equipment never put into use: £90million.

Expenditure on Universal Credit IT contractor overspend: £241million.

Expenditure on Youth Contract Scheme, (failure rate 95%): £434m

Expenditure contesting appeals against unfair work assessments: £150million

Expenditure on overpayments at the DWP due to fraud: £1.2billion.

Shares For Rights Scheme opened up a £1bn tax loophole.

The financial madhouse that is Westminster guaranteed to get Smith into the House of Lords. Bugger the taxpayers

 

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Darling & Private Lectures

The Executive Director of Transparency International UK said, “The revolving door between government and business is spinning out of control. This has created an environment in which corruption risks are high.”

Alistair Darling: MP for Edinburgh South-West

A lady attacked, “Flipper” tonight.

Flipper is evidently in demand. He received a fee of £10,200 for addressing a dinner organised by Cinven, London. Hours: approx 6 hrs. On its website it states: ‘Cinven has been involved in European healthcare over a 20-year period and invests in market-leading, cash-generative companies.

“Cinven”, is a leading buyout firm, who bought 25 private hospitals from, “BUPA”. Other UK investments include, “Spire Healthcare”, who run private healthcare hospitals, and whose clinical director Jean-Jacques de Gorter said the USE OF PRIVATE SECTOR WOULD SPIRAL as a result of Andrew Lansley’s reform proposals. “General Healthcare Group”, which runs, “Healthcare Services”, and whose group includes, “BMI Healthcare”. The other company is Générale de Santé who are France’s leading healthcare provider.

Surely another reason to vote, “Yes” in the referendum. The Scottish NHS is well worth protecting from the excesses of the finance guru’s whose only driver is profit.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/referendum-news/it-wasnt-emmeline-pankhurst-and-others-saying-they-wanted-suffrage-in-engla.24741556

The Impact Of Welfare Changes

Scottish Health & Welfare Staff in Lanarkshire to be Trained to Spot Health Impacts of Benefits Changes

Both North and South Lanarkshire councils are taking the lead in dealing with the changes. Janice Scouller, health improvement lead for the North West Unit, who is overseeing the welfare reform work in NHS Lanarkshire, said: “The welfare benefits system is undergoing the most significant reform since its establishment. “It is resulting in unprecedented numbers of individuals having their benefit entitlement reviewed, which is resulting in many being financially worse off.

The changes will disproportionately affect vulnerable individuals, many of whom suffer ill health and disability and who rely on benefits as their main source of financial income. We know from previous experience that this will impact on health services as poverty associated illnesses, such as stress, increase. “We not only want staff to be aware of this but to also look out for the signs of deteriorating health in patients.” It is estimated the welfare changes will result in:

disabled people in Scotland losing over £1 billion in benefit payments

100,000 claimants losing entitlement to sickness benefit

50,000 losing entitlement to disability payments

83,000 disabled households affected by the ‘bedroom tax’.

Janice continued: “Patients are also likely to turn to some of our staff for advice and support and we want staff to signpost people to the correct place.
“GPs and other health care professionals may also be asked to give support in the appeals process of some claimants whose benefit has changed. “All this will have an impact on the NHS and we want to prepare staff for this.

The brutal treatment of those least able to cope and in need of help and understanding must surely sway any still, “undecided” Scot to vote, “yes” in the referendum. Scotland is better than this.

Click to access Pulse-January-February-2014.pdf

Civil Service – Taking Responsibility

The minister responsible for civil service reform, Francis Maude, does not understand leadership, the former head of the service has told the BBC. Lord Butler of Brockwell said what he called, “backstairs sniping” showed contempt for the civil service. Mr Maude recently said Whitehall should take more responsibility for errors. A spokesman for Mr Maude said the civil service was full of brilliant people but held back by a hierarchical system and rigid culture.

Dumped On

In a recent newspaper interview Mr Maude suggested civil servants should, “speak truth to power” more often. His sentiments have met with a frosty response from the man who was for a decade cabinet secretary and head of the civil service. Lord Butler told BBC Radio 4’s Week in Westminster, “I agree with that, but people are not encouraged to speak truth to power when in the same breath in the same interview they are told that they will be dumped on when things go wrong. “I’m sorry to say, I really think that Mr Maude and some of his colleagues don’t understand leadership.” He continued, “My view is that the relationship between ministers and the civil service works best when they work together in a mutually supportive relationship, with loyalty on both sides.
“And backstairs sniping, whichever side it comes from, shows that something is wrong and there’s been too much of that backstairs sniping.” Lord Butler, who served under prime ministers Margaret Thatcher, John Major and Tony Blair, said there was that sort of criticism of civil servants in the media, “almost every single day”.

Sweeping under carpet

BBC political correspondent Ross Hawkins said there were clear tensions in Whitehall about both changes to the civil service, and controversies in which the most senior civil servants in government departments – permanent secretaries – had been publicly criticized. Mr Maude’s spokesman said, “The civil service has brilliant people but somehow ends up being less than the sum of its parts because of a hierarchical system and a rigid culture. “It’s not right to patronize people by pretending that everything is perfect in the best of all possible worlds. “Good leadership is not about sweeping problems under the carpet. Francis and the leadership of the civil service have highlighted issues which need to be addressed. The same issues are raised in a survey of 200,000 civil servants. “We owe it to the taxpayer, users of public services and civil servants themselves to address these issues in an honest and truthful way. That’s just what we are doing”. “What Francis said was that, “everybody has to take responsibility for what they were part of” – that’s axiomatic and the alternative is no responsibility and no accountability.”

The Elderly & Benefits

Francis Maude-Cabinet Office Minister Tells Elderly to Go on-Line or Lose Your Benefits

1. The elderly will soon have to have to go on online or risk losing access to key government services.
2. Refuseniks, who do not want to use computers will be able to apply for a one-off lesson to help them get on to the internet.
3. In future the Government will only make services available over the internet, in the same way an airline sells tickets.
4. Ministers are migrating dozens of public services onto the internet, including the carers’ allowance, (used by 3.2million carers a year), the small claims service, and Lasting Powers of Attorney, (which allow families to take control of a loved one’s financial affairs).

The comments were greeted with dismay by groups representing the estimated five million pensioners in their 80s and 90s who have never been on the internet.

Mr Maude was unveiling figures to an audience of civil servants at the Treasury showing the billions saved by the Government by moving Government services online. Asked by the Telegraph if all Government services would be online at some stage, he said: “Our point is that everything that can be delivered online, should be delivered online and only online.” He added: “There are some things that are physical and can’t be online. The key point is that like airlines, airlines do everything that is not physical, is not about actually flying the aeroplanes online, which is better for them and better for the passenger.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/10889563/Go-on-the-internet-or-lose-access-to-government-services-Francis-Maude-tells-pensioners.html#disqus_thread

1. Dot Gibson, general secretary of the, “National Pensioners’ Convention”, said: “The move towards largely digital only services could pose a huge problem for millions of older people. Over five million of today’s pensioners have never been online, and this is particularly true for those who are at the upper end of the pensioner age group, in their 80s or 90s. “It’s also a problem for poorer pensioners who may not be able to afford a computer and the other equipment needed. Fundamentally there’s an information gap that the government are creating. “Just because someone uses the computer now, doesn’t mean they will want to when they are 85. The idea that we all have to be digital citizens or else we end up as second-class citizens is wrong.”

2. Lisa Harris, Saga’s communications manager, said: “It is somewhat disingenuous to assume that everybody wants to be online. Recent research shows that the vast majority of those that are not online have made a conscious choice not to be. “To say that all ‘old’ people should be online and all they need is a little mollycoddling is somewhat patronising. “Government needs ensure that people have proper protection online, such as ensuring banks and financial institutions treat those who make genuine mistakes fairly, but also provide help and advice for those that want it. “It is essential that people are able to deal with public services in a way that suits them. The digital tide is certainly turning, but Government need to ensure we can all ride the technology wave and not leave some left to drown unaided because they don’t choose to ‘conform’.”

The Bedroom Tax

Bedroom Tax

Under the Con/Dems and/or Labour Government (if elected), people in social housing will receive a cut in housing benefit where they are deemed to have spare bedrooms. Take careful note all you council and Housing association tenants.

Ed Miliband, The Labour leader claimed financial help for disabled people hit by the so-called bedroom tax was outweighed by cuts in other benefits they receive.

David Cameron Con/Dem Prime Minister said the figures put forward by Miliband to support his claim were “completely wrong” and said the coalition government was exempting a range of vulnerable groups from paying the bedroom tax.

There is a way out of this madness vote, “Yes” in the referendum. Take Scotland back. Let us decided for ourselves what our policies are to be.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9912660/PMQs-David-Cameron-and-Ed-Miliband-clash-over-bedroom-tax.html

New Labour – Multiculturalism – Uncontrolled Immigration – Secretly Orchestrated by Blair and Brown

 

 

 

 

 

New Labour – (Tony Blair & Gordon Brown) Architects of Destruction

There was a huge increase in migrants in the time Tony Blair and Gordon Brown were in office, though Labour persistently denied any politically motivated left wing agenda radically altering the make-up of British society.

The populist word was “multiculturalism” completion of which would change the country forever  “rubbing the rights nose in diversity,” according to Andrew Neather, (former adviser to Tony Blair, Jack Straw and David Blunkett.)

The cynical  abuse of the nation was later admitted by Labour politicians to be the means of significantly increasing the Labour Party voter base.

The assumption being that most immigrants would naturally  give their support to Labour.

Adding to the numbers, illegal immigration, over the same period exceeded 1.5million.

The bulk of the illegal immigrants remaining in the UK operate in the “black economy” (annual turnover £300billion).

 

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Brexit

The blame for  the success of “Brexit” in the recent referendum can be wholly attributed to the abusive policies of New Labour .

Records indicate that EU immigration primarily added migrants who, possessed the skills needed to help build the economy and were keen to assist in the process of multiculturalism.

It is sad that this hard working group are bundled in the minds of the electorate into a group called  “immigrants”.

 

 

 

 

Multiculturalism – The Labour Party – Uncontrolled Immigration – A trip down memory lane just to jog the grey matter.

Secret papers suggest that the Labour Party threw open the doors to mass migration in a deliberate policy to change the social make-up of the UK.

A draft report from the Cabinet Office showed that ministers wanted to ‘maximise the contribution’ of migrants to their ‘social objectives’.

The number of foreigners allowed in the UK increased by as much as 50 per cent in the wake of the report, written in 2000.

Melting pot: Labour’s diversity drive is exposed in secret papers Labour has always justified immigration on economic grounds and denied it was using it to foster multiculturalism.

But suspicions of a secret agenda rose when Andrew Neather, former government adviser and speech writer for Tony Blair, Jack Straw and David Blunkett, said:

“the aim of Labour’s immigration strategy is to rub the rights’ nose in diversity and render their arguments out of date”.

 

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Neather also said Labour’s relaxation of controls was a deliberate plan to:

“open up the UK to mass migration” but ministers were nervous and reluctant to discuss the move publicly for fear it would alienate the core working class vote.

As a result, the public argument for immigration concentrated instead on the economic benefits and need for more migrants.”

Critics said the revelations showed a “conspiracy” within Government to impose mass immigration for “cynical” political reasons.

Some 2.3 million migrants were added to the population since then, according to Whitehall estimates quietly slipped out on a good day to release bad news..

Sir Andrew Green, chairman of the Migration Watch think tank, said:

“Now at least the truth is out, and it’s dynamite. Many have long suspected that mass immigration under Labour was not just a cock up but also a conspiracy. They were right. This Government has admitted three million immigrants for cynical political reasons concealed by dodgy economic camouflage.”

The chairmen of the cross-party Group for Balanced Migration, MPs Frank Field and Nicholas Soames, said:

“We welcome this statement by an ex-adviser, which the whole country knows to be true. “It is the first beam of truth that has officially been shone on the immigration issue in Britain.”

A Home Office spokesman said:

“Our new flexible points based system gives us greater control on those coming to work or study from outside Europe, ensuring that only those that Britain need can come.

Britain’s borders are stronger than ever before and we are rolling out ID cards to foreign nationals, we have introduced civil penalties for those employing illegal workers and from the end of next year our electronic border system will monitor 95 per cent of journeys in and out of the UK. The British people can be confident that immigration is under control.    (This was a big big lie.)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/6418456/Labour-wanted-mass-immigration-to-make-UK-more-multicultural-says-former-adviser.html

 

 

 

 

 

A Decade Later – Multiculturalism Fails – 4 Million Immigrants – White Minority Areas Expanding

Demos, the Left-wing think-tank, said its analysis of Census data for England and Wales showed ethnic minorities are concentrating in particular areas and white people are moving out.

The findings echo a phenomenon first seen in the mid-20th century United States – where it was dubbed “white flight” – which saw racially-mixed urban areas become predominantly black as affluent whites moved to the suburbs.

The research is significant because Demos, which was once closely linked with the previous Labour government which increased immigration to record levels, suggested ethnic minorities are becoming more isolated in British life rather than becoming more integrated in a “multi-cultural” Britain.

It found 4.6 million ethnic minority Britons – about 45 per cent of the country’s black and Asian population – are now living in areas where whites are in a minority.

Ten years ago just 1 million black and Asian people, or 25 per cent of the country’s then total ethnic minority population, lived in such communities, said Demos.

Ed Miliband acknowledged that the last government made mistakes presiding over the most rapid expansion of our foreign-born population in history.

He conceded that wages were being depressed by the influx of immigrant labour and that British workers had found it more difficult to get a job as a result. Up to now, this has always been denied by the ministers responsible.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/10037764/Ethnic-majority-areas-growing-says-report.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/telegraph-view/9912907/Labour-has-only-hollow-words-on-immigration.html

 

 

 

 

he 21st Century Nuclear Arsenal – A Report by the American Security Project

The 21st Century Nuclear Arsenal – A Report by the American Security Project

The policy of the United States is clear. The, “Nuclear Weapons Umbrella” maintained by the USA, serves not only to deter attack on the USA, but also to protect their allies’ security. The deterrent covers NATO, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Australia.

Rethinking and Reshaping the American Nuclear Deterrent and its Forces for the 21st Century

1. Nuclear weapons have been a bulwark of the U.S. national security strategy for nearly seven decades. The thinking surrounding the employment of these weapons is nearly as old. The international system has changed greatly since that time, and consequently, America’s nuclear strategy must change to adapt to this new system or risk fading into ineffectiveness and irrelevancy.

2. Massive arsenals of politically unusable weapons simply no longer fit the deterrent needs of the United States — and the size of the U.S. arsenal is an irrelevant factor in deterring proliferation. Therefore, U.S. national security is better served by diverting resources toward strategies, weapons, and equipment that are designed to address the challenges it faces today.

3. To move toward a new effective strategy, the U.S. should develop a three-tiered strategy for deterrence; reduce in size it’s nuclear arsenal; reanalyze and better coordinate its counter-proliferation efforts; and ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Lawmakers and the media should address these issues with the breadth and seriousness they deserve.

Summary; Major change is beyond the talking stage. The USA nuclear arsenal is to be much reduced. The cost of maintaining it is prohibitive. Nuclear weapons require a nations available finance to be diverted away from conventional forces, (witness the massive reductions in the UK armed forces in the last year or so). The USA will increase their conventional forces, finance being diverted away from nuclear weapons that will never be used.

http://www.americansecurityproject.org/the-21st-century-nuclear-arsenal/