Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of re-introducing a target of six months for the completion of asylum applications to the UK.

A new service standard for asylum applications is currently being developed, which is intended to bring balance back to the asylum system.

Until October 2018, there was a published service standard in place to decide 98% of straight-forward cases within six months from date of claim. Whilst the operation consistently achieved this for three years, the number of non-straight forward cases awaiting a decision grew rapidly and it became clear that the former service standard no longer best served those that used our services. For these reasons, former Ministers agreed that we should move away from the service standard to reprioritise cases in the short term, whilst we come to longer term arrangement for service standards that meet the needs of all parties.

As a result, we moved away from the 6-month service standard to concentrate on older claims, cases with acute vulnerability and those in receipt of the greatest level of support, including Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC). Additionally, we are prioritising cases where an individual has already received a decision, but a reconsideration is required.

In line with UKVI’s ambition to promote a greater understanding and transparency of the asylum system and to develop a service standard that is meaningful and commands confidence, we have engaged with stakeholders as part of our plans and are considering this valuable insight as we work to shape the new service standard.

We are committed to ensuring that asylum claims are considered without unnecessary delay, to ensure that individuals who need protection are granted asylum as soon as possible and can start to integrate and rebuild their lives, including those granted at appeal.