Asked by: Lord Bishop of Sheffield (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many asylum application caseworkers are currently employed by the Home Office; and what plans they have to hire more staff to address the appeals backlog.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The number of full time equivalent (FTE) asylum caseworkers employed at the Home Office per month until December 2025 is published in the ASY_05(M) tab of the published migration transparency statistics, located on the Immigration and Protection data; September to December 2025. At the end of December 2025, there were 2,028 FTE asylum caseworkers.
We are continuing to onboard staff to maintain staffing at the required levels to allow us to manage asylum intake, reduce the overall time to make initial asylum decisions and deal with appeals.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Sheffield (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to consult charities, faith groups, and frontline support services to deliver a more sustainable approach for procuring short-term accommodation for asylum seekers in line with the recommendations on the procurement of short term accommodation set out in the Office for Value for Money's policy paper UK Infrastructure: A 10 Year Strategy.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has already begun consultation with charities and frontline support services on future asylum accommodation plans. Officials met with voluntary and community sector stakeholders on the 5th August and plan to meet again in September. Minister Norris will be hosting engagement with faith groups later this year on future asylum accommodation plans.