The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) conducted the annual stakeholder survey to collect views from stakeholders that have engaged with the inspectorate over the last year.
The ICIBI's annual stakeholder survey was open for six weeks between 1 December 2025 and 12 January 2026. Stakeholders that had engaged with the ICIBI over the previous 12 months - such as by submitting evidence for an inspection and/or participating in stakeholder forums - were invited to complete the survey.
In response to the results of the annual stakeholder survey, John Tuckett, the Independent Chief Inspector, said:
I would like to thank stakeholders for participating in the survey.
Stakeholder insights and feedback are invaluable to the work of the ICIBI, and it is encouraging to see that a large majority of stakeholders are positive about their engagement with the ICIBI.
Multiple suggestions were made in the survey for future inspection topics, and this has influenced the formation of the 2026-27 Inspection Plan , which I published in April.
I would also like to take this opportunity to remind stakeholders that they are welcome to contact the inspectorate at any time.
45 responses were received, with respondents describing themselves/their organisation as follows:
| Participant | Number of respondents |
|---|---|
| Charity | 16 |
| Regional strategic migration partnership | 7 |
| Other | 5 |
| Academic or researcher | 4 |
| Trade association | 4 |
| Home Office contractor or another organisation responsible for service delivery on behalf of the Home Office | 3 |
| Professional body | 3 |
| Community group | 1 |
| Local authority | 1 |
| Religious or faith group | 1 |
Headline findings were as follows:
Engagement with ICIBI
- 93% of stakeholders said the statement, "Engaging with the ICIBI is worthwhile for me/my organisation", either 'fully' or 'somewhat' reflected their opinion.
- 78% of stakeholders said they were either 'very satisfied' or 'satisfied' with their engagement with the ICIBI over the past year. One stakeholder said they were unsatisfied, citing the outstanding publication of a report as the reason for their response.
- The ICIBI chairs a number of stakeholder forums , and forum members that responded to the survey were asked questions about their experiences. 93% of forum members found the forums a useful way to share their views and concerns with the Independent Chief Inspector, while 100% of forum members found these platforms a useful way to keep informed of the work being carried out by the ICIBI.
Inspection reports
- Stakeholders were asked how they use the ICIBI's inspection reports. In response, 67% said they use the reports in advocacy and engagement with the Home Office, while 60% said they use the reports as sources for research.
- The sections of reports that stakeholders found "most useful" were the Key Findings and Recommendations chapters.
Recommendations
- 96% of stakeholders said the statement, "ICIBI recommendations are clear and focused", either 'fully' or 'somewhat' reflected their opinion.
- Stakeholders were asked to what extent the following statement reflected their opinion: "The Home Office's responses to ICIBI recommendations adequately address the issues raised by the inspection." 31% of stakeholders indicated this fully or somewhat reflected their opinion, 36% said the statement "did not really reflect [their] opinion", and 18% said the statement "did not reflect [their] opinion at all".
Miscellaneous
- At the time of the survey, the ICIBI's only social media presence was on X . Stakeholders were informed in the survey that the ICIBI was considering using LinkedIn as an additional platform to share updates about its work. A majority of respondents said that they/their organisation use LinkedIn to "find out updates from organisations that matter to [them]". Meanwhile, six stakeholders suggested that the ICIBI should use Bluesky to share updates. These survey results led to the ICIBI launching a presence on LinkedIn and Bluesky in March 2026.
- Three stakeholders asked the ICIBI for details of the survey results.
Looking forward, the responses to this survey will inform future stakeholder engagement and feed into our inspection planning, in line with the ICIBI Inspection Framework .
