Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to speed up the processes for (1) applications for asylum and refugee protection, and (2) visas for entry and leave to remain in the UK.

To help reduce the number of outstanding claims for protection we are investing in a programme of transformation and business improvement initiatives that will speed up and simplify our processes, reduce the time people spend in the asylum system and decrease the number of people who are awaiting an interview or decision.

These initiatives include conducting shorter, more focused interviews or omitting interviews where it is appropriate to do so, streamlining decision templates and focusing on improving quality to ensure decisions are right first time. We have introduced specialist Decision Making Units, providing greater ownership and management of cohorts of asylum cases. Additionally, we have extensive ongoing recruitment and training plans in place, including career progression options that will aid the retention of staff.

We are continuing to develop existing and new technology to help build on recent improvements such as digital interviewing and move away from a paper-based system. We are streamlining and digitising the case working process to enable more effective workflow, appointment booking and decision-making.

The UK keeps its visa system and processes under regular review, and UKVI uses continuous improvement and stakeholder feedback to improve its services. For example, it recently introduced the biometric deferral process for Ukrainian nationals, enabling them to travel to the UK urgently and enrol biometrics in country, and it also launched new digital application forms that enable customers to prove their identity remotely without needing to submit documentation.