Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2016 to Question 51921, who is given responsibility to carry out the specialist international assurance function in relation to tier 4 decisions; and what steps she has taken to guarantee the independence of that function.

The International Correspondence and Quality Assurance Team carries out quality assurance reviews on entry clearance decisions, including in relation to Tier 4 decisions. The team is responsible for post decision correspondence work, including appeals and administrative reviews. The team does not make any initial decisions on entry clearance applications, and operates separately from the decision making teams.

Entry Clearance decisions may also be subject to review at different stages of the application process, as part of UK Visa and Immigration's overall internal assurance framework. The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration also conducts regular reviews of the efficiency and effectiveness of the visa service.