Independent report

Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens’ Rights Agreements: Review 2023 to 2024

Published 17 November 2023

Applies to England and Wales

Background to the IMA

Under Article 159 of the Withdrawal Agreement (WA), an independent monitoring authority is required for a minimum duration of ‘8 years after the end of the transition period’ to oversee the implementation and application in the UK of the Citizens’ Rights Part of the WA and Part 2 of the European Economic Area European Free Trade Association (EEA EFTA) Separation Agreement (together, ‘the Citizens’ Rights Agreements’). To meet this requirement, the Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens’ Rights Agreements (IMA) was established under s. 15 of and Schedule 2 to the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 (EUWAA2020).

The IMA was established as a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) of the MoJ and became operational at 23:00 on 31 December 2020.

As part of the approval for setting up the IMA, it was agreed with HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office that a review of the organisation would be conducted approximately 18-24 months after it became operational.

Purpose of the review 

The review, conducted in line with Cabinet Office Public Bodies Review Guidance aimed to provide assurance that: 

• IMA’s functions remain useful and necessary;
• to assess whether the public body is effective, efficient and aligned to government priorities; and
• to ensure the organisation is well governed and properly accountable for what it does.

Conclusion and Recommendations 

A stage 1 review concluded that the IMA is in good health and operates well in the execution of its functions.  The MoJ and the IMA are compliant with the majority of Cabinet Office good practice indicators for departments and public bodies. Particular areas of strong compliance with good practice indicators include governance and relationship with the sponsor department.  Two areas of non-compliance have been identified relating to the MoJ not sending an annual letter to the Chair of the IMA’s Board, which the Review Team notes is being considered, and the IMA’s non-use of Government Digital Services products, which would not serve the IMA’s needs and risks compromising its independence. The Review Team is satisfied with this justification for deviating from good practice indicators.

This review did not indicate the need for a full, independent review of the IMA at this stage. The following proportionate recommendations have been made: 

Recommendation 1: Further review 

The MoJ, in discussion with the Cabinet Office, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and wider government, should undertake a further review of the IMA before the end of its minimum term^{[footnote 1]}.

Recommendation 2: Performance Monitoring – KPIs

To date, the IMA’s KPIs have changed each year with limited discussion with the sponsor Department.  The MoJ partnership and policy teams should use Business Assurance Meetings, between the IMA and the sponsor department to undertake more stringent analysis of the IMA’s KPIs, including considering how KPIs and performance against its activities has changed across years; thereby ensuring that the body is delivering value for the taxpayer.

Recommendation 3: Performance Monitoring - Benchmarking

The IMA does not undertake benchmarking of performance against comparators; nor has it been requested by the MoJ.  The Review Team and (historically) the Board have identified the potential benefits that can be seen from benchmarking, and recommend that the IMA’s compares its activities against other public bodies interested in rights (such the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, the EHRC, and the EU Commission).

Recommendation 4: Recruitment

To support efforts in easing the IMA’s current recruitment challenges and overreliance on contingent labour, it is recommended that the Board works with the MoJ to re-evaluate the IMA’s current local recruitment policy, including assessing the benefits and risks of switching to national-by-default recruitment, including the use of Government Hubs.

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1. The EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 requires the IMA’s functions to be carried out for a minimum of eight years. Whilst during that time, some, or all of the IMA’s functions could be transferred to another public authority, subject to various conditions, its functions cannot be abolished before 31 December 2028. ↩