Immigration services rock bottom in reputation rankings

The reputations of the immigration services, Udlændingestyrelsen, and the Tax Ministry are rock bottom, according to a new survey that ranks public institutions in Denmark based on their reputation.

The survey, undertaken by the analysis institute RepTrak and based on the opinions of over 9,000 Danes, showed that out of the 40 public institutions under consideration, Udlændingestyrelsen, the Tax Ministry, the Employment Ministry, national rail providers DSB and the Transport Ministry were the bottom five.

“Particularly the parts of the public sector that have a monopoly on the service they offer are too poorly led and have a hard time reaching the Danes,” Gunnar Ørskov, a marketing expert, told Politiken newspaper.

Rail infrastructure administrator Banedanmark, the Education Ministry, the State Administration, the National Board of Industrial Injuries and the tax authorities SKAT completed the bottom ten.

READ MORE: Morten Bødskov out as justice minister

Scandalous ramifications
The public institution with the best reputation was the consumer ombudsman, followed by parliament's ombudsman, the police, the courts and the Danish Working Environment Authority.

The top ten was completed by the Competition and Consumer Authority, the Defence, the Foreign Ministry, the Food Product Authority and the Danish Road Directorate.

A number of public institutions, such as DSB and SKAT, have dropped considerably since 2010 thanks to a number of negative stories about them in the national media.

The national intelligence agency PET, which endured the biggest rankings drop from last year but was still not in the bottom ten, was embroiled in a number of scandals covered by the media, including the illegal spying of Dansk Folkeparti politician Pia Kjærsgaard, which led to Morten Bødskov stepping down as the justice minister.