Across the corridor, the Justice and Home Affairs Committee of the House of Lords held its tenth oral-evidence session this morning, questioning National Audit Office officials and the former Head of Immigration Statistics about data quality within the Home Office. (committees.parliament.uk)
Witnesses conceded that current exit-check coverage still misses up to 8 % of departures and that fractured IT systems make it hard to match visa expiry dates with actual emigration. Lord Blunkett pressed officials on whether policy proposals—such as the new contribution-based settlement model—can be implemented without robust evidence.
The National Audit Office said a full value-for-money review of the £1.3 billion e-Borders programme is under way, with findings due in May. It also revealed that planned upgrades to the Advance Passenger Information Gateway have slipped by nine months.
![Peers examine reliability of Home Office migration data in Lords evidence session]()
For travellers and HR teams trying to navigate this uncertainty, specialist services like VisaHQ provide a useful safety net. The company’s UK portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/) aggregates the latest entry-clearance rules, offers automated deadline reminders and can track passport or permit renewals on behalf of clients—delivering a measure of data reliability while government systems play catch-up.
For multinational employers the stakes are high: inaccurate statistics feed directly into political narratives that drive sudden rule changes, complicating workforce planning. Committee members urged the Home Office to share anonymised passenger-flow data with academic researchers to improve modelling.
The session highlighted that even as the UK races toward a fully digital border, gaps in the underlying data could undermine investor confidence and fuel further legislative churn. The Committee will publish written recommendations later this month.
Witnesses conceded that current exit-check coverage still misses up to 8 % of departures and that fractured IT systems make it hard to match visa expiry dates with actual emigration. Lord Blunkett pressed officials on whether policy proposals—such as the new contribution-based settlement model—can be implemented without robust evidence.
The National Audit Office said a full value-for-money review of the £1.3 billion e-Borders programme is under way, with findings due in May. It also revealed that planned upgrades to the Advance Passenger Information Gateway have slipped by nine months.
For travellers and HR teams trying to navigate this uncertainty, specialist services like VisaHQ provide a useful safety net. The company’s UK portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/) aggregates the latest entry-clearance rules, offers automated deadline reminders and can track passport or permit renewals on behalf of clients—delivering a measure of data reliability while government systems play catch-up.
For multinational employers the stakes are high: inaccurate statistics feed directly into political narratives that drive sudden rule changes, complicating workforce planning. Committee members urged the Home Office to share anonymised passenger-flow data with academic researchers to improve modelling.
The session highlighted that even as the UK races toward a fully digital border, gaps in the underlying data could undermine investor confidence and fuel further legislative churn. The Committee will publish written recommendations later this month.
