This chapter covers the precise targets, which are mostly associated with asylum, and, to some extent, the theme of security. Such measures are generally restrictive. As discussed in the previous chapter, while the overall Public Sector Agreement (PSA) aims on migration are quite broad, in both Spending Reviews (2002 and 2004), when examining the PSA targets attached to these aims, there is a palpable sense of ‘narrowing’. It should also be emphasised that the Home Office has chosen (or at least negotiated) such a set of PSA targets.

The Asylum PSA targets

PSA Target 7 (SR2002; linked to Home Office Aim 6) is to:

PSA Target 5 (SR2004; linked to Home Office Aim 4) is to:

The measurement is focused on ‘unfounded’ asylum claims, which includes both failed asylum claims and cases where persons are not granted refugee status but granted temporary leave. The baseline period is the year 2002/03 and the target will have been achieved if the number of unfounded asylum claims in the year 2007/08 is less than in the baseline year.

These two targets are very clearly focused on asylum and are the only performance measures linked to the broader ‘migration’ PSA Aim.

Other restrictive targets

In addition to the targets on asylum set out above, the only other precise measurable targets refer to unauthorised migrants. Labour has set two quantitative targets, both for deportations. The first deportation target was to remove 30,000 failed asylum seekers per year in 2001/02. The second, known as the ‘tipping point’ target, was introduced in an article in The Times penned by the Prime Minister, in which he presented a target of deporting more failed applicants per month than those who made unfounded applications by December 2005.