New figures published today present the asylum appeals backlog had risen to 33,227 circumstances on the finish of June 2024, beneath the final authorities. Within the interval April to June 2024, the immigration tribunal obtained 9,318 asylum appeals and disposed of three,598 asylum appeals.
These figures look dangerous as they’re. However they really cover the fact of what’s going on within the asylum system as a result of they’re outdated and issues are shifting rapidly in the mean time. Numbers of appeals lodged has been lowering because the finish of 2024. Since June 2024, they may have been rising once more.
We want some context.
The next chart reveals the preliminary determination backlog in addition to asylum functions and asylum selections. You may see that the backlog rose. Then fell. The began to extend once more very barely. In the meantime, the variety of asylum claims remained comparatively steady. However the variety of asylum selections elevated dramatically. Then fell once more. What’s going on?
Outdated backlog goes up then down: 2017 to 2023
Earlier than Priti Patel took over as Dwelling Secretary in 2017, the variety of excellent asylum claims had been pretty steady at round 20,000 to 30,000 circumstances. On her watch, the asylum backlog rose very significantly. In the meantime, the variety of asylum claims really remained very steady. Small boat arrivals elevated from 2018 onwards. Initially, although, this represented a change of route by asylum seekers moderately than an total improve in numbers.
When total numbers did begin to improve in late 2021, the backlog was already excessive and rising. The backlog finally reached a peak of over 175,000 excellent circumstances by June 2023. The backlog then very belatedly began to fall very quickly.
So, within the interval operating as much as the tip of 2023, the final authorities had been making appreciable progress lowering the backlog it had allowed to construct up. We are able to see from the earlier chart that numbers of asylum claims remained steady. The explanation the backlog fell was a fast improve within the variety of asylum selections, as we are able to see within the following chart:
We are able to additionally see that the variety of selections rose quickly however then additionally fell quickly. I’ll come again to that fall in a second.
Within the interval main as much as late 2023, the asylum grant charge was excessive at about 75% or so. This meant that almost all of asylum selections have been grants of asylum and there have been comparatively few refusals. It is just the place an individual is refused asylum that they may lodge an enchantment.
In late 2023, although, as a result of there was such a excessive quantity of selections, that meant numerically much more asylum refusals than regular and in addition due to this fact meant much more appeals being lodged than regular. That’s the reason there may be such an enormous spike in appeals lodged within the interval October to December 2023 (Q3 in response to tribunal stats).
New backlog goes up: 2024
Let’s return to the autumn within the variety of selections from the beginning of 2024. We are able to see there was nonetheless a really substantial preliminary determination backlog. So why did the final authorities decelerate determination making once more? In spite of everything, the asylum backlog is vastly costly as a result of virtually all these asylum seekers ready for a call should be accommodated.
The reply is the Unlawful Migration Act. The final authorities introduced parts of it into pressure. This meant that anybody who had arrived on or after 7 March 2023 couldn’t have their asylum declare processed.
This didn’t matter to start with as a result of there was already an enormous backlog of asylum claims to work by means of for individuals who had arrived earlier than then. However by the tip of 2024 officers had run out of circumstances on which they might legally make selections. So, asylum determination making slowed down once more. The large variety of new caseworkers recruited to resolve circumstances have been left twiddling their thumbs.
In the meantime, the backlog began to rise once more. It’s because asylum seekers continued to reach. There was no improve in arrivals, only a regular circulate.
What has occurred since June 2024?
Quickly after the brand new authorities gained the final election on 4 July 2024, the bar on making asylum selections was lifted. Which means asylum decision-making has resumed since then. We don’t but have the figures on what number of selections of what sort have been made and we gained’t get that till November.
We are able to make some guesses, although.
It appears cheap to imagine an identical variety of selections within the interval June to August 2024 as on the peak of productiveness within the interval October to December 2023. So far as we all know, the officers who have been recruited for making asylum selections weren’t sacked. So, there was a lot of skilled officers prepared to start out making selections if given the go-ahead. However there are unknowns. Some could have been reassigned. Employees turnover may be very, very excessive in that a part of the Dwelling Workplace. The variety of “administrative outcomes” (i.e. deemed asylum declare withdrawals) was far too high previously and it could have been wise to cease that follow.
It appears seemingly that the grant charge is not going to have gone up because the final set of figures have been launched. It was hovering at round 60%. It had been excessive not less than partially as a result of claims from very excessive danger nations like Syria, Afghanistan and Eritrea had been prioritised and dropped at the entrance of the queue. Which means there are fewer of these actually sturdy asylum claims sitting within the backlog now.
So, the amount of selections may be very prone to have shot up since June 2024. And the proportion of refusals has most likely remained both the identical or gone up.
Which means a excessive quantity of asylum refusals. And that additionally means a excessive quantity of asylum appeals.
I’ve usually questioned what share of refused asylum seekers lodge an enchantment. I attempted placing collectively a chart evaluating asylum refusals and asylum claims lodged per quarter:
Weirdly, there are extra appeals being lodged than refusals in some quarters, so I’m undecided I’ve obtained this proper. Unhelpfully the Dwelling Workplace and Ministry of Justice consult with totally different quarters, with the Dwelling Workplace contemplating Q1 to be January to March and the MOJ contemplating Q1 to be April to June. However I feel I adjusted for that. The deadline for lodging an asylum enchantment is barely 14 days, usually, in order that delay shouldn’t make a lot distinction. Anyway, the traditional relationship is for there to be fewer appeals than refusals, though there may be little consistency as to the proportion distinction.
Anyway, we are able to see from the chart above and from the primary chart on this weblog put up that there was a fall within the numbers of asylum appeals being lodged within the final three quarters which corresponds with the autumn within the variety of asylum refusals. That has not helped the tribunal a lot as a result of the excellent variety of asylum appeals continued to rise as a result of the tribunal can solely course of far fewer asylum appeals than it’s receiving, even when these receipts have been falling.
What is going to occur to the asylum appeals backlog?
We’ve simply seen that asylum refusals are prone to have risen quickly from June 2024. We’d see one thing like 20,000 asylum refusals per quarter for a number of quarters in a row till the asylum backlog is cleared. Or, it one other approach, the asylum backlog stood at round 120,000 circumstances. If round 40% are refused, meaning about 48,000 asylum refusals over the time frame it takes to clear the backlog. If the speed of decision-making returns to that in late 2023, that can solely take six months or so.
That’s a LOT of appeals incoming at a time when there may be already a big backlog and the ready time for appeals is already over a 12 months on common.
It doesn’t help that lots of the folks with pending appeals is not going to have authorized illustration, which means that every enchantment requires extra judicial useful resource than if the particular person was represented. The variety of asylum legal professionals out there has fallen lately and there’s no strategy to quickly improve our numbers. It was already the case that many asylum seekers couldn’t discover legal professionals for appeals, and that was earlier than the current improve in appeals.
Not like coping with the preliminary determination backlog, there aren’t any apparent or simple options right here. However with out some motion and extra assets, it appears to be like just like the appeals backlog goes to rise quickly and goes to remain excessive for a really very long time. Asylum seekers are entitled to lodging whereas awaiting the result of their appeals, which goes to make it laborious for the brand new authorities to fulfill its pledge of ending using asylum accommodations.
Occupied with refugee regulation? You would possibly like Colin’s guide, imaginatively known as “Refugee Law” and printed by Bristol College Press.
Speaking vital authorized ideas in an approachable approach, that is a necessary guide for college kids, legal professionals and non-specialists alike.
