Croydon's Lunar House criticised after unannounced inspection
By Brian Haran
brian.haran@essnmedia.co.uk
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CRITICISED: Lunar House
A string of criticisms have been directed at the Home Office's Lunar House immigration base in Croydon.
An unannounced inspection of the building's public enquiry office (PEO), in Wellesley Road, found that, although the staff were doing a good job, various technical and structural problems dogged the service.
A report was released on Friday by John Vine, the Chief Inspector of the UK Border Agency, following his inspection last month.
Mr Vine said: "Staff at the Croydon PEO were, on the whole, professional and committed to their work, but they were hampered in the level of service they could provide to customers due to IT failures, queues for office equipment and cramped accommodation.
"It was also disappointing to find that inaccurate information on customer waiting times was found."
The Croydon PEO is the largest of seven nationwide run by the UK Border Agency.
It offers a same-day service for considering applications for permission to extend a stay, or to stay in the UK permanently.
The inspection included a series of "mystery shopper" enquiries online or over the phone, together with staff interviews and customer surveys.
The full report can be viewed at www.ociukba.homeoffice.gov.uk.
6 Comments
by Anon, Anon
Monday, March 08 2010, 3:32PM
“Anne's not legal”
by Tom, Local
Monday, March 08 2010, 11:38AM
“Read the comment properly. S/he said They are not illegals or the the kind of "immigrant" you mention in your post and Mike merely mentioned that they had travelled through countries to get here. So, what kind of immigrant are they?”
by ANNE, SELSDON
Monday, March 08 2010, 9:46AM
“They are legals.”
by Tom, Local
Monday, March 08 2010, 8:11AM
“Me, Thornton Heath,
Enlighten us further as to who they actually are then.”
by me, thornton heath
Sunday, March 07 2010, 8:59PM
“Mike, The customers mentioned in the above report have an appointment for their visit to Lunar House, they also pay a fee for the service they receive. They are not illegals or the the kind of "immigrant" you mention in your post.”
by Mike, Ex New Addington
Sunday, March 07 2010, 5:45PM
“So a service that is under extreme presure has problems perhaps it would help if we didn't make so easy for illegals to enter our country and claim that we "must look "after them even though they have travelled through numerous countries to get here because they have been told that we are a soft touch.”