Policy paper

Response to a report on an inspection of country of origin information (accessible version)

Published 5 December 2018

Introduction

The Home Office thanks the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) for this report, as well as the Independent Advisory Group on Country Information (IAGCI) and the individual reviewers for the positive overall nature of the reviews, the complimentary remarks about the quality standards of the team and their products and the constructive comments and feedback to enable further improvement.

Response to recommendations

Recommendation 1

1. Reconsider its response to the May 2016 recommendation from ICIBI that it “should ensure that the Country Policy and Information Team (CPIT) is resourced to fund the translation into English of information that IAGCI has recommended and CPIT has ‘accepted’ should be included in a Country Information and Guidance (CIG) report and is not available from any other source.”

1.1 Partially accepted

1.2 The Home Office accepts the recommendation insofar as we will review whether we have ‘set the bar too high’ in terms of translations. However, as the Chief Inspector appears to acknowledge, translations remain cost-prohibitive and therefore we will continue to decide on a case-by-case basis whether a translation is necessary, balancing the value of the information to the understanding of the country situation and the cost of translation. The starting point would be that the material improves understanding from that which is available in English.

Recommendation 2

2. Indicate within future COI products where CPIT is aware of and has considered non-English language sources, but has decided that it is unnecessary to have them translated, giving the reasons.

2.1 Partially accepted

2.2 The Home Office will add non-English language material we have considered to the bibliographies in our products. However, we do not consider it necessary to give the reason why we have not translated the material since most of the time English language sources will be sufficient. We also do not detail the reasons for including or not including sources in our products.

Recommendation 3

3. Ensure that full account is taken of the review by UNHCR of US State Department (USSD) reports issued under the current administration when deciding what reliance to place on particular USSD reporting, including how to present such material in COI products so that users are made aware of any UNHCR caveats.

3.1 Partially accepted

3.2 We will take account of UNHCR’s comments, we will do this as part of our usual approach to source assessment and validation as comments are considered when selecting whether to include a source or not. We do not consider it necessary to – and rarely, if ever – include third party’s commentaries on third parties’ reports in our products.

Summary

Recommendation 1. Reconsider its response to the May 2016 recommendation from ICIBI that it “should ensure that the Country Policy and Information Team (CPIT) is resourced to fund the translation into English of information that IAGCI has recommended and CPIT has ‘accepted’ should be included in a Country Information and Guidance (CIG) report and is not available from any other source.”

HO response: Partially accepted

Recommendation 2. Indicate within future COI products where CPIT is aware of and has considered non-English language sources, but has decided that it is unnecessary to have them translated, giving the reasons.

HO response: Partially accepted

Recommendation 3. Ensure that full account is taken of the review by UNHCR of US State Department (USSD) reports issued under the current administration when deciding what reliance to place on particular USSD reporting, including how to present such material in COI products so that users are made aware of any UNHCR caveats.

HO response: Partially accepted