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Asylum backlog passes 70,000
The backlog of asylum cases has passed 70,000 despite a fall in the annual number of applications.
Almost 71,000 asylum seekers, including dependants, were awaiting an initial decision on their claim for refugee status as of 30 June 2021, according to new Home Office figures. The overall backlog has doubled in just a couple of years: at the end of 2018, the figure was 36,000.
The rise in pending cases comes despite the number of new applications remaining below pre-pandemic levels. The flow of asylum claims into the system rose in the second quarter of 2021, but remains well below the 2019 peak. The running total in the year ending 30 June 2021 is lower than the number for the year to 30 June 2020.
A different measure of the backlog — asylum seekers waiting for more than six months for an initial decision — also shows an alarming rise. The number of people in this position is up almost 40% year-on-year, to 54,000