Priti Patel pushed through Rwanda asylum plan despite concern from her most senior civil servant

The Home Secretary has issued a “ministerial direction” in relation to the Rwanda asylum plan, overruling concerns from her own civil servants, Sky News understands.

Ministerial directions are used when the top civil servant in a department has objected to the costs or feasibility of a spending plan.

A Home Office source said: “Home Office officials are clear that deterring illegal entry would create significant savings. However, such a deterrent effect cannot be quantified with certainty.

“It would be wrong to let a lack of precise modelling delay a policy aimed at reducing illegal migration, saving lives, and breaking the business model of the smuggling gangs.”

The UK government is attempting to crack down on Channel crossings by small boats and as part of the plans, the Home Office has signed a deal with Rwanda to send migrants to the landlocked African country.

Analysis

At a very basic level, ministerial directions are used when the government feels a situation is so critical, that it’s prepared to take the risk of taxpayer cash essentially being wasted.

During the pandemic, directions were issued for loan schemes, despite civil service concerns about the risk of fraud.

The justification was that the need to get money out fast to businesses to stop them from going bust outweighed the scale of potential losses.

Looking back now at the billions potentially wasted on fraud, many may wonder if more caution should have been shown.

The famous Eat Out To Help Out scheme also required a direction to address objections of a lack of evidence to show such a novel policy would achieve its aims.

A similar justification is being put forward to push through the Rwanda asylum partnership.

This ministerial direction doesn’t mean the civil service is against the policy, but it does show how much uncertainty there is that the plan will actually work.

It’s also not necessarily as damaging a development for the Home Secretary as her critics will suggest.

Priti Patel embraces her reputation as a steely minister bravely battling the red tape of the civil service.

For those sympathetic with her cause, this may just be another example of one woman’s crusade against the Whitehall blob.

The Home Office said on Thursday that the first people to be sent to Rwanda will be formally notified in the coming weeks, with the first flights taking place in the next few months.

The partnership could reportedly cost £120m initially and Priti Patel said during a news conference in Kigali on Thursday that the UK is making a “substantial investment” toward the development of Rwanda.

What are ministerial directions?

Ministerial directions have been used just 46 times since 2011, with many issued during the COVID-19 pandemic.

They have the effect of instructing civil servants to implement a policy despite an objection from the top non-political staff member of a department.

This means the minister becomes accountable for the spending, rather than the civil service.

Directions were issued over the Eat Out To Help Out scheme and the COVID-19 bounce back loan programme.