A continuing backlog of asylum cases

The Guardian - The government’s target to clear the historic caseload of asylum applications will not be met and is being set back by a further backlog of cases, according to a Home Affairs Committee report.

In the MPs’ last report before the general election, the committee said that far from being assured by the goverment it was increasingly concerned about action on the issue.

“Despite the assurances given by the Government in their responses to our original reports,” the committee said, “the subsequent evidence we have received reinforces and, in some areas, increases the concerns we felt at the end of last year. None of these issues will be resolved within the next few months, and all will have a serious impact on thousands of people.”

The report comes after an independent watchdog warned in February that the Home Office’s target of dealing with 90% of asylum applications within six months was “unacheivable.”

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