One way to make sure public services don’t run efficiently is to underfund them and have insufficient staff. Works every time.

I’ve not practised in immigration law for a decade or so, but Home Office decisions back then were truly awful, often badly structured, full of errors both factual and grammatical, and looking for any specious way to reject the appeal.

Then when you got to the appeal hearing, either there was no HOPO or they were hopelessly overwhelmed and underprepared. It was rare that this was not the case. I suspect the situation hasn’t improved since I last set foot at Taylor House.

I've been to the FTT about 4 times and the UT once. I was astonished at how much time & money seemed to be wasted by the HO not knowing what it was doing. My UT case was a HO appeal & the HOPO knew nothing about it. What was even the point?

I had an appeal to the UT where I correctly advised my client that there was pretty much no hope on the appeal as the law was wholly against us, only for the HOPO to concede as soon as the judge entered the courtroom, to everyone’s surprise. My client gave him a hug to thank him.

The news this morning is being presented as if the appeals system is an avenue for chancers to try to stay in the UK for no reason. It’s hugely important context that around half of appeals succeed. Lower tier decisions are very poorly made.

⬇️ bsky.app/profile/geor...

Some Jesuit provinces give wannabee Jesuits a few bob in cash and a telephone number for emergencies and tell them they have x days to get to distant Jesuit community y, to give them a taste of what its like to be on the margins of society. maybe sth similar cd be arranged for HO staff