UK asylum backlog cleared, says PM, but critics disagree

The Home Office says it has cleared its asylum backlog, but critics accuse the government of manipulating the figures.

Tens of thousands of migrants have been staying in government requisitioned hotels while they await an initial decision on their refugee status claim.

Just over a year ago, PM Rishi Sunak pledged to process 92,000 "legacy" applications by the end of 2023.

Labour accuse the government of making false claims about meeting the target.

According to a government press release, "increased efficiency" has meant more than 112,000 asylum cases were processed by officials last year, exceeding the PM's commitment.

It says in one four-week period from 20 November to 17 December 2023, there were 20,481 initial asylum decisions made - more than the number of asylum decisions made in the entirety of 2021.

The prime minister said the department's efforts are "saving the taxpayer millions of pounds in expensive hotel costs, reducing strain on public services and ensuring the most vulnerable receive the right support".

But critics - including some Tory MPs - dispute these claims and suggest that Downing Street is massaging the statistics.

Legacy cases refer only to people in the asylum system on 28 June 2022, the day when new asylum rules came into force. All of those cases have been reviewed but not all have been resolved - 4,500 have been reclassified as "complex".

The Home Office says such cases typically involve asylum seekers presenting as children - age verification, serious medical issues or checks on suspected convictions can be among the issues.

Around 100,000 people whose applications were made after June 2022 are still in the system and many of them remain in hotels.

Stephen Kinnock, shadow immigration minister, said the government's claims were "false" and the asylum backlog had "rocketed" under the Tories. "No slicing or renaming the figures can disguise that fact," he said.

"Over 4,000 claims are unresolved and a disturbing 17,000 asylum seekers have simply been 'withdrawn' by the Tories from this legacy backlog, with ministers seeming to have no idea where they are and whether they are reapplying or disappearing into the underground economy."

In January last year, Rishi Sunak outlined five key priorities for the year - stopping boats bringing people across the English Channel was one of them.

The government also said that in 2023 it had:

Commenting on the overall number of cases processed, Home Secretary James Cleverly said: "This is a significant achievement but the job is far from over.

"We will work with law enforcement partners and governments across the world who want to tackle this threat and ensure that British taxpayer money is not wasted on people trying to abuse our generosity."