Govt ‘must get a grip’ as asylum backlog soars to 143,000

EMBARGO: Immediate Release

Responding to new official figures showing that the asylum backlog has risen to 143,377, with 97,717 waiting more than six months, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said:

“The Home Office is a disaster zone, and it’s clear who is to blame. By their own admission, the Conservatives have broken our asylum system and shattered public trust in it.

“Tens of thousands of refugees have been waiting months for a decision, banned from working or renting their own home. The Conservative chaos at the Home Office is wasting millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money every day.

“The Government must finally get a grip. It should take asylum cases away from the discredited Home Office and set up a new independent unit to make decisions quickly and correctly.

“We need a fair, effective asylum system that treats everyone with dignity, and that everyone can have confidence in.”

ENDS

Notes to Editor

The Home Office’s latest quarterly immigration statistics, published today, are available here. Table Asy_D03 shows that:

• 143,377 asylum applications were awaiting an initial decision at the end of September, up 217% from 45,255 in September 2019.

• 97,717 people had been waiting more than 6 months for a decision as of the end of September, up 274% from 26,125 in September 2019.