Asylum: Interviews

(asked on 27th October 2020) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the proof of concept pilot for the outsourcing of asylum interviews, whether the claimants will be informed that they are being interviewed by a third party rather than a Home Office employee; and if not, whether this information will be available upon request.


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 10th November 2020

The Home Office is not planning to disclose to a claimant if they have been interviewed by a third party rather than a Home Office employee. We do not ask staff to disclosure their employee status prior to interview.

Third party interviewing officers will complete a bespoke training package, delivered by the qualified asylum operations training team, that has been designed specifically to meet their needs. The course will include training specifically about modern slavery and safeguarding awareness. Anyone who conducts asylum interviews receives thorough training to ensure they are fully equipped for the role. We expect the experience to equal the existing high standards already in place.

To guarantee governance and accountability, mechanisms are in place for the oversight of third-party interviews and the department has a quality assurance process which assesses the quality of decisions, interviews and the application of Home Office policy.

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