Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral statement by the Prime Minister on Illegal Migration of 13 December 2022, Official Report, column 887, when her Department plans to establish a new specialist unit for expediting cases involving Albanian nationals; and what recent estimate she has made of when her Department will meet its target of recruiting 400 new specialist staff to that unit.

We have taken immediate action against the large numbers of Albanian nationals risking their lives and making dangerous and unnecessary journeys to the UK through illegal means.

Since the Prime Ministers announcement over 400 specialist staff have been processing and expediting asylum claims from Albanian nationals.