Asylum: Religion

(asked on 2nd May 2019) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 4 April (HL14728), what were the findings of their investigation into reports which indicated that some asylum decisions were not drafted in accordance with Home Office policy guidance on how asylum decision-makers are expected to approach religious-based claims.


Answered by
Baroness Williams of Trafford Portrait
Baroness Williams of Trafford
Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
This question was answered on 16th May 2019

After reports indicated that an asylum decision was not drafted in accordance with Home Office policy guidance, Asylum Operations conducted an investigation into this matter. A small number of religious conversion cases were sampled and no further cases were identified during this sampling exercise.


All such decisions are currently subject to further scrutiny, pending the roll out of additional specialist training, which has been developed in collaboration with the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for International Freedom of Religion or Belief.


The Asylum Learning and Development Team started to deliver the specialist training package on religious claims on Monday 8 April, which will be mandatory for all asylum decision-makers.

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