Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the level of waiting times for asylum seeker applications to be determined.

We remain focussed on reducing the number of asylum cases awaiting an initial decision.

The Home Office continues to invest in a programme of transformation and business improvement initiatives to speed up decision making and reduce the time people spend in the asylum system. This will enable us to maximise our capacity and progress cases in a more efficient and cost-effective way.

Over 70% of asylum claims received in Q3 2025 have been decided within 6 months, the highest percentage since Q1 2016. Decision output continues to exceed asylum intake helping us to reduce waiting times for initial asylum decisions. This demonstrates that the steps we have already taken to streamline the asylum process and increase our efficiency are paying off and shows that we are building an asylum system that is efficient and sustainable.