Immigration: Asylum backlog in UK hits record high, Home Office figures show
The backlog of asylum claims in the UK has hit a new record high, according to Home Office figures.
A total of 175,457 people were waiting for an initial decision on an asylum application in the UK at the end of June 2023, up 44% at the end of June 2022 and the highest figure since current records began in 2010.
The number of people waiting more than six months for an initial decision stood at 139,961 at the end of June, up 57% year-on-year from 89,231 and another record high.
In total, there were 134,046 cases being dealt with by the Home Office in relation to the 175,457 people waiting for an initial decision at the end of June 2023.
At the end of July 2023, the number of cases being handled had risen to 136,779 – but the data does not show how many people this related to.
The number of people lodging asylum claims has also risen to a two-decade high.
Some 78,768 applications were made in the year to June 2023 – again, there can be more than one person covered by each application.
This is 19% higher than the previous 12 months, and higher than the European migration crisis, where 36,546 applications were made in a 12-month period.
Stephen Kinnock, Labour’s shadow immigration minister, said: “These new statistics set out in stark terms the complete chaos the Tories have created in the immigration and asylum system.
“The asylum backlog has reached a new record high, with 175,000 people now waiting for decisions. Only 1% of last year’s 45,000 small boats cases have received a decision and the number of failed asylum seekers being returned is also down a whopping 70% since 2010. This is a disastrous record for the prime minister and home secretary.
“With this level of mismanagement, there is very little prospect of reducing the eye-wateringly high bill for hotel rooms for all those left in limbo, currently costing the British taxpayer £6 million a day.”
There has also been a sharp rise in the number of worker visas issued in the past year compared to the previous 12 months.
The new statistics published by the Home Office also show a 63% rise in the number of people coming to the UK on work visas in the year to June 2023, compared to the year to June 2022 – meaning 538,887 arrived to work in the past year.
The number of study visas issued is up 34% to 657,208.
Both these figures include dependents brought into the UK on the programmes alongside the main visa holder.
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More than 100,000 people have crossed Channel in small boats since records began
This means that 208,295 more people came to the UK on work visas in the 12 months to June 2023 and 165,968 more people entered on study visas.
It comes despite a Tory 2019 manifesto commitment to “bring overall numbers down”.
The government has changed the law to mean that, from January 2024, people on student visas will no longer be able to bring dependents with them.
A sizeable proportion of those entering on work visas are health and care workers, for whom the government created a new pathway in 2020.
Jonathan Gullis, a Tory MP and member of the New Conservatives group, told Sky News: “I think a lot of people will rightly be concerned to see another huge rise in skilled worker visas particularly as the thresholds in education have been reduced, so we will probably be continuing to rely on cheap foreign labour into the future, whenever there is a shortage.
“We should be taking big businesses head on and forcing them to upskill young people and adults looking to retrain to develop our own workforce within the UK.
“Brexit for me was about taking back control of our borders. Not shutting off the world, that would be ludicrous, but looking in our own country and helping young people in places like the Midlands and the North to train up for these skilled jobs and deliver on our pledges from when we were elected in 2019.”
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Skilled worker visa scam
Marley Morris, the Institute for Public Policy Research’s associate director for migration, trade and communities, said: “The government is still far-off from getting on top of the asylum backlog. While the Home Office is bringing down the ‘legacy backlog’ of older cases, this is being offset by new applications from recent arrivals.
“Moreover, many of the most recent decisions by the Home Office are withdrawals rather than grants or refusals. In the long run, this could backfire on the government, as people whose applications are withdrawn end up being pushed underground or make fresh asylum claims.
“Once the government implements the Illegal Migration Act, this could make matters even worse. Even if the Rwanda scheme is ruled to be lawful by the Supreme Court, it is likely that the number of arrivals will outpace the number of removals, creating a growing ‘perma-backlog’ of asylum seekers trapped in limbo. This could cost the Home Office billions each year.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The unacceptable number of people risking their lives by making these dangerous crossings is placing an unprecedented strain on our asylum system.”
According to the Migration Observatory, the Home Office’s figures showed that only 41% of asylum seekers arrived by small boats – down on the previous year when it was 45% – but the overall number of applications rose.
The government spokesperson added: “Our priority is to stop the boats, and our Small Boats Operational Command is working alongside our French partners and other agencies to disrupt the people smugglers.
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“The government is going even further through our Illegal Migration Act which will mean that people arriving in the UK illegally are detained and promptly removed to their country of origin or a safe third country.”
Dr Peter William Walsh, senior researcher at the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford said: “Political debate has been hyper-focused on small boats, 90% of whom claim asylum. Yet in the year to June 2023, small boat arrivals made up only 41% of asylum claims – the remainder will have arrived in the UK via other routes.”
UK
MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace steps down as Kirsty Wark among 13 who claim he made inappropriate sexual jokes
MasterChef host Gregg Wallace has stepped down over allegations he made a series of inappropriate sexual comments on a range of programmes over 17 years.
Broadcaster Kirsty Wark is among 13 people who have made claims, with Wallace being investigated by MasterChef’s production company Banijay UK.
In an interview with the BBC, the Newsnight presenter, who was a celebrity contestant on MasterChef in 2011, claimed Wallace used “sexualised language”.
“There were two occasions in particular where he used sexualised language in front of a number of people and it wasn’t as if it was anyone engaged with this,” Wark said.
“It was completely one-way traffic. I think people were uncomfortable and something that I really didn’t expect to happen.”
Sky News has contacted Wallace’s representative for comment.
Kirsty Wark. File pic: PA
‘Fully cooperating’
Banijay UK said the complaints were made to the BBC this week by “individuals in relation to historical allegations of misconduct while working with Gregg Wallace on one of our shows”.
The company said the 60-year-old, who has been a co-presenter and judge of the popular cooking show since 2005, was “committed to fully cooperating throughout the process”.
“Whilst these complainants have not raised the allegations directly with our show producers or parent company Banijay UK, we feel that it is appropriate to conduct an immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate,” the company said.
“While this review is under way, Gregg Wallace will be stepping away from his role on MasterChef and is committed to fully co-operating throughout the process.
“Banijay UK’s duty of care to staff is always a priority and our expectations regarding behaviour are made clear to both cast and crew on all productions, with multiple ways of raising concerns, including anonymously, clearly promoted on set.
“Whilst these are historical allegations, incidences brought to our attention where these expectations are not met, are thoroughly investigated and addressed appropriately.”
A BBC spokesman said: “We take any issues that are raised with us seriously and we have robust processes in place to deal with them.
“We are always clear that any behaviour which falls below the standards expected by the BBC will not be tolerated.
“Where an individual is contracted directly by an external production company we share any complaints or concerns with that company and we will always support them when addressing them.”
Previous investigation
Last month, Wallace responded to reports that a previous BBC review had found he could continue working at the corporation following reports of an alleged incident in 2018 when he appeared on Impossible Celebrities.
Wallace said those claims had been investigated “promptly” at the time and said he had not said “anything sexual” while appearing on the game show more than half a decade ago.
In an Instagram post following an article in The Sun newspaper, he wrote: “The story that’s hitting the newspapers was investigated promptly when it happened six years ago by the BBC.
“And the outcome of that was that I hadn’t said anything sexual. I’ll need to repeat this again. I didn’t say anything sexual.”
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Alongside MasterChef, Wallace presented Inside The Factory for BBC Two from 2015.
Wallace and Anne-Marie Sterpini in 2014. Pic: PA
Wallace has featured on various BBC shows over the years, including Saturday Kitchen, Eat Well For Less, Supermarket Secrets, Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals, as well as being a Strictly Come Dancing contestant in 2014.
He was made an MBE for services to food and charity last year.
Recorded episodes of MasterChef: The Professionals featuring Wallace will be transmitted as planned, the PA news agency understands.
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