Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people who are currently waiting for appeals relating to asylum applications have been waiting over (a) one year and (b) two years.

The First-tier Tribunal (Immigration & Asylum Chamber) hears appeals against decisions to refuse a claim for asylum. The Upper Tribunal (Immigration & Asylum Chamber) hears appeals on a point of law against a First-tier Tribunal decision.

(a) As of 9 February 2015 case management records show there are 211 outstanding asylum appeals in the First-tier Tribunal and 121 outstanding asylum appeals in the Upper Tribunal that were received at least one year ago.

(b) Of these records, 55 First-tier Tribunal appeals and 83 Upper Tribunal appeals were received at least two years ago.
Only a tiny percentage of cases take more than a year, and when they do it is because they raise complex issues. Official statistics published on the 11 December 2014, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-and-gender-recognition-certificate-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2014 show that the average time taken to dispose of an asylum appeal within the First-tier Tribunal was 12 weeks between July and September 2014.