| Agency Name: | Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens' Rights Agreements |
| Native Name: | Welsh: Awdurdod Monitro Annibynnol ar gyfer y Cytundebau Hawliau Dinasyddion |
| Type: | Non-departmental public body |
| Jurisdiction: |
|
| Headquarters: | Swansea, Wales |
| Employees: | 60-70 |
| Minister1 Name: | Shabana Mahmood |
| Minister1 Pfo: | Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor |
| Chief1 Name: | Leo O'Reilly |
| Chief1 Position: | Interim Chairman |
| Chief2 Name: | Miranda Biddle |
| Chief2 Position: | Chief Executive Officer |
The Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens' Rights Agreements (IMA; Welsh: Awdurdod Monitro Annibynnol ar gyfer y Cytundebau Hawliau Dinasyddion)[1] is a body corporate set up in the United Kingdom by the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020[2] [3] to monitor the functioning of the provisions of the Brexit withdrawal agreement relating to citizens' rights, and to protect the rights of European Union citizens in the UK.[4] [5]
Based in Swansea, Wales,[6] it is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Ministry of Justice.[7] Its interim-chair is Leo O'Reily.[8] [9]
When the United Kingdom made the decision to exit the European Union (EU) a formal agreement was established to protect citizens whom the exit would impact upon. As part of that, we have been established to make sure the agreement is being properly upheld. In specific terms, the Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens’ Rights Agreements (IMA) protects the rights of EU and EEA EFTA citizens, and their family members, in the UK and Gibraltar. Essentially, the IMA helps people from EU and EEA EFTA countries get the same rights as they did before the UK left the EU. The IMA are responsible for making sure that UK public bodies are respecting the rights of EU and EEA EFTA citizens and their family members. Public bodies can include:
Many of the organisations the IMA monitor are on the list of departments, agencies and public bodies on located on www.gov.uk. The IMA are also responsible for monitoring public bodies in Gibraltar.[10]
In October 2022, IMA took the Home Office to court, arguing that it is against the withdrawal agreement for the government to require EU citizens to apply for settled status upon the expiry of their pre-settled status.[11]
The Independent Monitoring Authority costs of a non-executive board of six directors representing each governed area represented in the Withdrawal Agreement.
| Vacant | Chairman | |||
| Leo O'Reilly | Interim-Chairman | 7 December 2023 | ||
| Punam Birly | Non-executive Director | 7 December 2025 | ||
| Ronnie Alexander | Non-executive Director | 16 March 2024 | ||
| Marcus Killick | Non-executive Director | 7 December 2023 | ||
| Joyce Cullen | Non-executive Director | 9 February 2024 |
Day-to-day manage is delegated to the Chief Executive of the IMA who has overall responsibility for the three directorates.
| Portrait | Name | Post held | Post Held Since | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miranda Biddle | Chief Executive Officer | July 2023 | |||
| Andrew Bagley | Director of Governance and Corporate Services | September 2020 | |||
| Rhys Davies | General Counsel | November 2020 | |||
| Pam Everett | Director of Operational Delivery | November 2020 |
| Portrait | Name | Post held | Start | End | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dr Kathryn Chamberlain | Chief Executive Officer | 2020 | 2023 | 3 years, 180 days | ||
| Sir Ashley Fox | Chairman | 2020 | 2023 | 2 years, 281 days |