Home Office ‘accepted’ faulty IT system despite alerts over ‘awful’ data

Exclusive Former independent inspector reveals he repeatedly warned about Atlas. By Lizzie Dearden

The Home Office was alerted years ago to problems with its faulty £71m IT system and the “awful” data that it produces but “just accepted” them, according to the UK’s former chief immigration inspector.

David Neal, who was sacked as the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) in February, said he had given repeated warnings about the malfunctioning Atlas casework system. He questioned how effectively the Home Office responded to problems, saying: “It is such a big issue and it’s just accepted. Atlas is fundamental to everyone working in this area.”

Mr Neal added: “I think they know already what the problem is [with Atlas], which is that it’s not very good. There is a resistance from officials to any new computer system, but it was beyond that.” His comments come after an i investigation revealed that Atlas, meant to “automate” asylum, citizenship and visa applications, had instead been causing serious delays and errors with a series of glitches, some seen as “critical incidents”.

It has left NHS staff unable to start work, slowed down operations against illegal immigrants and kept children waiting for as long as 21 months for British citizenship.

Mr Neal (inset), who this week described the Home Office as “dysfunctional” and in need of reform, said he had seen the “symptoms” of Atlas problems across a wide spectrum of work on visas, asylum and foreign offenders. The first time he became aware of them was during a 2021 inspection of visas issued to families wanting to settle in the UK. Atlas was then raised repeatedly as an issue by Home Office staff for reports he produced. “There’s a backdrop of Atlas not being very good; everyone knows that,” he said. “The data are awful and the fact they have to introduce workarounds speaks for itself.”

The Home Office says Atlas was in its early stages of testing and roll-out in 2021 and that “substantial changes have been made to improve data quality” . He said he had repeatedly warned of problems with Atlas: “Whenever we did an inspection, data was an issue – it will be in every single report. None of this is new to the

Home Office; I’ve been saying this to them for three years.”

Mr Neal was dismissed after being accused of releasing confidential information to the media and his position is not expected to be filled for months.

He said this week he believed he would be “vindicated” and that his sacking meant “there will be no scrutiny of small boats... no scrutiny of adults at risk in detention, which is a controversial area... no publishing of the Rwanda material”.

The Home Office said the ICIBI reports were a snapshot of time and did not affect subsequent improvements, while further updates were planned.

A spokesman added that improvements to Atlas had ensured there was “a more efficient, accurate and comprehensive UK immigration system”.