Cross my Palm with Silver

I wish we had been doing this blog thing for years. It allows you sagely to add a little blue link back to a particularly perspicacious article. Unfortunately the prediction which currently seems to be coming true predates my conversion to cyberspace, so you will just have to take my slightly (and regretfully) smug word for it.
The use of CCAs as a deliberate mechanism to drive Immigration practices out of business, generally unfairly, is pretty much established history. It got off to a haphazard start very much dependant upon the confidence of the regional auditing staff with the subject matter. Latterly of course this has been transferred to a “specialist” unit in London ensuring that the real purpose of the process could effectively be prosecuted.
We have been warning clients undertaking Mental Health work that it appeared to us to potentially be the “new immigration”, for years. Sure enough the appearance of “specialist” units, conversant with MH casework and the category specific Contract and guidance, were announced in December (see Focus 49). This promised that all CCA audits would be undertaken by these units from April 2006.
Yesterday was 25th April 2006.
Yes you are ahead of me – yesterday I was notified of the first Cat. 3 outcome of an appeal conducted by the new unit. A one off or are there more to come?
These clairvoyant skills are a real burden you know!