Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress her Department has made on increasing its capacity to clear the backlog of asylum applications.

The Home Secretary has removed the retrospective application of the Illegal Migration Act. This allows asylum claims from individuals who have arrived in the UK since 7 March 2023 to be considered against the existing legislative regime under the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, enabling decision-makers to progress the cases that had been put on hold.

The Home Office continues to invest in a programme of transformation and business improvement initiatives to speed up and simplify decision making, reduce the time people spend in the asylum system and decrease the number of people who are awaiting an interview or decision.

This will enable the department to maximise our capacity and progress cases in a more efficient and cost-effective way, in order to reduce the asylum backlog and cut the costs of asylum accommodation.