In the Commons, Ms McVey asked: 'Can he tell us when we can expect to see this legislation coming forward as time is of the essence, and can he explain why sorting out this issue did not feature on the Home Office permanent secretary's stated top three priorities for his department?' He faced pressure to act on his promises by former Cabinet minister Esther McVey, who warned that 'time is of the essence'. The PM laid out his plan for tackling the Channel crisis at the beginning of the year, making it one of the five 'pledges' that voters should judge him on by the election. MailOnline today asked the Home Office to release a copy of the questionnaire to the public but this request was refused. The move will see thousands of applicants sent a questionnaire, rather than automatically facing an interview, with the department warning that if they do not reply with the required information their asylum claim 'could be withdrawn'. It comes as the Home Office launched a plan to fast-track some asylum claims in a bid to cut the soaring backlog. The number of people waiting more than six months for an initial decision was 109,641 at the end of 2022, up 77 per cent year-on-year from 61,864. This was up 60 per cent from 100,564 for the same period in 2021 and the highest figure since current records began in 2010. The number of asylum seekers waiting for a decision on their claim in the UK has topped 160,000 with almost 75,00 applications made in the last year alone, Home Office figures show.Īlbanian was the most common nationality applying for asylum in the UK last year, with 14,223 applicants from the Balkan state - 9,573 of which came from people arriving in boats after crossing the Channel.Ī total of 160,919 asylum seekers were waiting for an initial decision on their claim at the end of December.
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