Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, (a) how do asylum caseworkers access country of origin information for asylum seekers; and (b) how often this information is updated.

The Home Office publishes Country Policy and Information Notes, which provide country of origin information, and analysis of this information, for use by Home Office decision makers assessing protection and human rights claims. Each Note provides information concerning the situation for a particular group of people in a particular country. They are published on our intranet, the GOV.UK website and are also available through the country information sites ecoi.net and Refworld.

Our Notes are kept under constant review and updated depending on demand and the situation.

Decision makers also have access to the latest available country information through an information request service for specific enquiries to deal with particular issues raised in individual claims. These are published on our intranet.