Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress his Department has made on processing asylum applications for people who arrived in the UK between 7 March and 19 July 2023.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
In 2023 we met the Prime Minister's pledge to clear the legacy backlog of asylum cases made before 28 June 2022. The Home Office is now prioritising claims (lodged on or after 28 June 2022).
These are being considered under provisions in the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. It is only right that we consider the oldest claims first.
Our priority is to consider claims as efficiently as possible, in order to process claims efficiently, and reduce the number of people on asylum support, in turn reducing the burden on taxpayers.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what meetings have taken place between the Home Office and faith communities regarding those claiming asylum in the UK due to genuine faith-based persecution; and what steps are being taken to ensure that they receive appropriate and compassionate support.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
On 22 February, the Home Secretary held an initial meeting with ten Christian faith leaders to discuss the role of religious conversions in asylum applications. Following the meeting, the Home Secretary commissioned the establishment of a working group.
The aim of this group is for Home Office representations and Christian faith leaders to discuss ways in which each party can better scrutinise asylum claims based on religious persecution and ensure those in genuine need of protection by the UK asylum system are supported.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of young asylum seekers have been identified as being over the age of 18 following (a) age verification and (b) identity checks in each of the last five years.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on asylum applications by age is published in table Asy_D01 of the ‘Asylum applications, decisions and resettlement detailed datasets’. The latest data relates to 2023.
Data on age disputes is published in table Asy_D05 of the ‘Age disputes detailed dataset’. The latest data relates to the year ending September 2023.
Information on how to use these datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of each workbook. Additionally, the Home Office publishes a high-level overview of the data in the ‘summary tables’. The ‘contents’ sheet contains an overview of all available data on asylum applications by age and age disputes.
Please note that an age dispute could, for example, be resolved following: a Merton compliant age assessment; receipt of credible and clear documentary evidence of age; a judicial finding on age; following a determination by two Home Office officers that the person’s physical appearance and demeanour very strongly suggests they are significantly over the age of 18; or, where the reasons for raising an age dispute no longer apply.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an estimate of the cost of establishing an appeal body for asylum applications processed in Rwanda under the UK-Rwanda treaty.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
We are working at pace with the Government of Rwanda to establish an appeal body for asylum applications. More details on this will be released in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum claims have been successfully made by citizens of (a) Israel, (b) the United States, (c) Canada, (d) New Zealand, (e) Australia, (f) Germany, (g) Spain, (h) France and (i) Italy in each of the last five years.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on asylum applications received, and the initial decisions on claims, is published in tables Asy_D01 and Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum applications, decisions and resettlement detailed datasets’. This data includes nationality breakdowns.
Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of each workbook. The latest data relates to 31 December 2023. Data up to the end of March 2024 will be published on 23 May 2024.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people with rejected asylum applications have been approached regarding voluntarily relocation to Rwanda as of 13 March 2024.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The option of voluntary relocation will be given to failed asylum seekers. If they wish to relocate, it is only right that we facilitate that in order to save taxpayers’ money and pressures on our public services.
Regarding the voluntary relocation of individuals to Rwanda, it would be inappropriate to provide a running commentary on individual cases.
If a person expresses an interest in the voluntary relocation, we are supporting people in ensuring that they have all the information they need in order to make a decision.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria his Department plans to use for selecting people with rejected asylum applications for proposed voluntary relocation to Rwanda.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The option of voluntary relocation will be given to failed asylum seekers. If they wish to relocate, it is only right that we facilitate that in order to save taxpayers’ money and pressures on our public services.
Regarding the voluntary relocation of individuals to Rwanda, it would be inappropriate to provide a running commentary on individual cases.
If a person expresses an interest in the voluntary relocation, we are supporting people in ensuring that they have all the information they need in order to make a decision.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people from Rwanda were granted asylum on (a) human rights and (b) other grounds in each year since 2010.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The UK has a proud history of providing protection to those who need it, in accordance with our international obligations under the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Those who need protection are normally granted refugee status or humanitarian protection.
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on asylum decisions by nationality are published in table Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum Applications, Decisions and Resettlement detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to 2023.
All asylum and human rights claims lodged from within the UK and admitted to the UK asylum system, including those seeking asylum from Rwanda, are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations, and against the background of relevant case law, policy guidance and the latest available country of origin information.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Rwandan nationals have been granted (1) refugee status, or (2) other leave to remain, in the UK since April 2022; and what are the principal reasons for granting.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’ on gov.uk. Data on initial decisions by nationality are published in table Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum applications, decisions and resettlement detailed datasets’. From April 2022 until December 2023, 9 main applicant Rwandan nationals were granted refugee permission and 1 main applicant was granted other leave.
All asylum and human rights claims lodged from within the UK and admitted to the UK asylum system, including those seeking asylum from Rwanda, are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations, and against the background of relevant case law, policy guidance and the latest available country of origin information.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many individuals have arrived into the UK via irregular routes since 7 March 2023; and of those individuals, how many have a case for refugee status started by the Home Office.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes statistics on irregular arrivals to the UK in the ‘Irregular migration to the UK statistics’ release on gov.uk. Data on irregular arrivals from 2018 to 2023 is published in table Irr_D01 of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK detailed datasets’. Data on asylum applications from small boat arrivals and the initial decisions for these applications is published in tables Irr_D02 and Irr_D03 of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK detailed datasets’, with the latest data up to the end of May 2023.
The Home Office does not publish data on asylum applications for other irregular arrivals.
As shown on table Irr_D03, there were no applications of asylum granted to small boat arrivals who arrived in April and May 2023.