Public Accounts Committee

MPs on the Public Accounts Committee have clashed with senior civil servants over the implementation of the new student visa system by the UK Border Agency (UKBA), in an often ill-tempered debate.

The committee was taking evidence on the matter on 14 May 2012, after a report by Whitehall's spending watchdog said up to 50,000 migrants may have exploited flaws in the system in its first year, to enter the UK.

Under the Tier 4 system, introduced in 2009, any student coming to the UK must be sponsored by a licensed college and cannot change institution without gaining permission.

But the National Audit Office said the system had been brought in "before the key controls were in place", and the agency "did not check that those who entered the UK as students were attending college".

Committee chair Margaret Hodge said there had been "complete chaos" after the introduction of the points-based system, and asked the panel of witnesses why it went live before it was ready.

The former head of the UKBA, Lin Homer, now HMRC permanent secretary, defended the system, which she said was better than the previous regime.

She told MPs the new rules attached an identity to each student; required them to study in the university or college specified in their application; and set out clearer rules on right to work.

But Ms Hodge dismissed this as "theoretical", pointing out that, in practice, the number of bogus applications "went up by a third".

Dame Helen Ghosh, permanent secretary at the Home Office, said the introduction of Tier 4 was a "progressive process" and the sector welcomed the changes being brought in "bit by bit".

The "surge" in bogus applications "was a surprise to us", but was not connected to this approach, she added.

Robert Whiteman and Jeremy Oppenheim, from the UKBA, also defended the implementation of the new system.

Mr Oppenheim said the previous set up was "profoundly unregulated", with little knowledge of or control over the behaviour of students after they entered the UK.

Ms Hodge countered that if they had got it so right, then the NAO would not have been so critical.

'Not open for business'

Earlier on, representatives from the industry told the committee of the difficulties they and their staff have had in both understanding and implementing the points-based system.

Simeon Underwood, academic registrar at the London School of Economics, said the rule changes had been "chaotic" and "difficult" to handle, and cost the LSE up to £250,000 a year.

Timothy Blake added that there were days when he did "nothing at all but visa-related activities", hampering his ability to develop business.

They agreed that the frequency and timing of changes was a big problem, and called for a period of stability with no further modifications, bar ones that simplify the process.

Mr Underwood also warned that there was a feeling, particularly in the Indian subcontinent, that UK higher education "is no longer open for business".