UK Home Office faulted on asylum claims 2018 HD

[Arsishay]

More people waiting for decisions even as application numbers decline, says watchdog

The UK’s Home Office is getting worse at processing asylum requests even as the number of claims is falling, according to a scathing report from the immigration system’s watchdog.

David Bolt, chief inspector of borders and immigration, said that 20,385 people were waiting for an initial decision on their asylum claims at the end of March, 1,530 more than at the same time the previous year. But the number of claims received fell 20 per cent to 29,549.

“My message to the Home Office is that it needs to accelerate its transformation plans and to ensure it has asylum processing and decision making under control as soon as possible,” Mr Bolt said on Tuesday. “Otherwise, the next peak in asylum intake, or trough in staffing levels, will see it fall further behind.”

His report highlighted the continuing pressure on many parts of the asylum and immigration systems from the recent refugee crisis in Europe and the surge in immigration into the UK.

Mr Bolt criticised the number of mistakes officials make in assessing decisions and questioned the frequency with which officials reclassify straightforward claims as complex, a step that exempts the claims from standards demanding a quick decision.

Among his report’s seven recommendations are that the Home Office ensures there are enough staff handling asylum claims to clear the backlog and cope with peaks in cases; that it reviews how well staff are trained; and that it check its processes for classifying cases as complex.

The Home Office has accepted six of the recommendations but only partially accepted a seventh, that it set a deadline of 12 months to decide on complex cases. The department said it was reviewing its rules but did not commit to changing them.

Asylum claimants must demonstrate they have either faced persecution in their home country or have a well-founded fear of facing persecution. Of the 28,557 initial decisions officials made during the year in question, 16,308 were refusals, while 8,182 applications were granted.

[Casa]

More people waiting for decisions even as application numbers decline, says watchdog

The UK’s Home Office is getting worse at processing asylum requests even as the number of claims is falling, according to a scathing report from the immigration system’s watchdog.

David Bolt, chief inspector of borders and immigration, said that 20,385 people were waiting for an initial decision on their asylum claims at the end of March, 1,530 more than at the same time the previous year. But the number of claims received fell 20 per cent to 29,549.

“My message to the Home Office is that it needs to accelerate its transformation plans and to ensure it has asylum processing and decision making under control as soon as possible,” Mr Bolt said on Tuesday. “Otherwise, the next peak in asylum intake, or trough in staffing levels, will see it fall further behind.”

His report highlighted the continuing pressure on many parts of the asylum and immigration systems from the recent refugee crisis in Europe and the surge in immigration into the UK.

Mr Bolt criticised the number of mistakes officials make in assessing decisions and questioned the frequency with which officials reclassify straightforward claims as complex, a step that exempts the claims from standards demanding a quick decision.

Among his report’s seven recommendations are that the Home Office ensures there are enough staff handling asylum claims to clear the backlog and cope with peaks in cases; that it reviews how well staff are trained; and that it check its processes for classifying cases as complex.

The Home Office has accepted six of the recommendations but only partially accepted a seventh, that it set a deadline of 12 months to decide on complex cases. The department said it was reviewing its rules but did not commit to changing them.

Asylum claimants must demonstrate they have either faced persecution in their home country or have a well-founded fear of facing persecution. Of the 28,557 initial decisions officials made during the year in question, 16,308 were refusals, while 8,182 applications were granted.

Please desist from spamming the forum with YouTube links. Four of your posts have been removed to Spam and the remaining have been edited.
If this continues your registration will be terminated without further notice.