National News Asylum Backlog has Reached New Highs While the UK Home Office has Reached New Lows

Unzeela Manzoor, BA Politics and International Relations

e Home O ce has spent the last few years drawing up di erent reforms. For instance, the controversial Rwanda Asylum Deal in April 2022, initiated by Home Secretary at the time Priti Patel, outsourced the UK’s asylum responsibilities to Rwanda. Measures such as these are becoming desperate attempts to ease the burden of the asylum backlog on the UK government, which has now reached a momentous record of over 160,000 unresolved claims.

and that they will be reviewed by caseworkers with appropriate training and expertise. ey have also encouraged the use of online translation tools to help with the answering process.

is new questionnaire program has been met with severe criticism by legal experts, who have claimed that 20 days is not enough time for claimants to obtain consultation and advice from specialists. Further criticism has been received over the fact that the questionnaire is only being o ered in English. Many have claimed that these questionnaires are being aimed at people who are not uent in English. is has led organisations, such as Amnesty International UK’s Refugee and Migrant Rights Director Steve Valdez Symonds, to conclude that this policy is not just ‘ine cient’ but also ‘discriminatory’. e nature of the questions is complex and includes inquiries into the personal and familial histories of asylum seekers, as well as questioning their journey to the United Kingdom.

In late February of this year, the Home O ce announced reforms to their asylum system. ese reforms include a new 11-page document containing a questionnaire which is set to replace the initial interview process. e Home O ce has requested for the document to be completed in English within 20 days and will be sent to over 12,000 asylum seekers who are eeing from war-torn countries such as Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan.

e backlog of this current asylum system is a result of several factors, including the lack of resources, legal complexities and a high volume of demand. is has been worsened by delays and inactivity as a result of the UK lockdowns during the COVID19 pandemic. e decision to use questionnaires comes as an e ort to address these issues, and the Home O ce has stated that questionnaires will only be used for straightforward cases