Rishi Sunak’s claim to have cleared asylum backlog branded ‘misleading’

Published

1 year ago

January 2, 2024

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The government is claiming victory in clearing the backlog of asylum claims – but that has been described as “misleading” as thousands are still waiting for a final decision.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged in December 2022 that he would “abolish” the legacy backlog of asylum claims made before 28 June of that year, with the Home Office being given the target of the end of 2023.

On Monday, the department said the pledge had been “delivered”, having processed more than 112,000 asylum claims overall in 2023.

There were more than 92,000 asylum claims made before 28 June 2022 requiring a decision, but Labour has said the government’s claim that all of those cases have been cleared is “false”.

The Home Office said on Monday that all cases in the legacy backlog have been reviewed, but added that “4,500 complex cases have been highlighted that require additional checks or investigation for a final decision to be made”.

Such cases typically involve “asylum seekers presenting as children – where age verification is taking place; those with serious medical issues; or those with suspected past convictions, where checks may reveal criminality that would bar asylum”, the department added.

It is understood that the Home Office has processed about 25,200 newer asylum claims, on top of the 86,800 decisions in legacy cases, which means the provisional number of total decisions made overall in the year reaches 112,000.

As many decisions as possible were made in the legacy backlog, according to officials, and the outstanding cases are due to a refusal to compromise security.

They pointed to efforts to clear some of the newer cases as evidence of the department’s commitment to tackling the overall backlog.

The prime minister said in a statement that the department’s efforts are “saving the taxpayer millions of pounds in expensive hotel costs, reducing strain on public services and ensuring the most vulnerable receive the right support”.

However, the CEO of the Refugee Council, Enver Solomon, said it is “misleading for the government to claim that the legacy backlog has been cleared as there are thousands still waiting for a decision”.

“After mismanaging the asylum system for so many years the government was right to clear the backlog but was wrong to do it in a way that has failed to see the face behind the case and instead has treated people simply as statistics rather than with the care and compassion they deserve,” he added.

Labour’s shadow immigration minister also accused the government of making “false” claims about clearing the asylum backlog.

Stephen Kinnock said: “The asylum backlog has rocketed to 165,000 under the Tories – eight times higher than when Labour left office – and no slicing or renaming the figures can disguise that fact.

“Meanwhile Rishi Sunak’s promise made a year ago to end asylum hotel use has been disastrously broken – with a 20% increase to 56,000, costing the British taxpayer more than £2bn a year.

“This is yet more evidence of an asylum system broken by the Conservatives.”

The government’s announcement comes after months of fears that the prime minister’s target would not be achieved.

In February last year, the Home Office said thousands of asylum seekers would be sent questionnaires which could be used to speed up a decision on their claims, and about 12,000 people from Afghanistan, Syria, Eritrea, Libya and Yemen, who had applied for asylum in the UK and were waiting for a decision, were understood to be eligible under the policy.

In June, the National Audit Office (NAO) said efforts to clear the backlog needed to significantly increase to clear the backlog and questioned whether the plans were sustainable.

The spending watchdog also estimated £3.6bn was spent on asylum support in 2022-23, which amounted to almost double the previous year.

The Home Office said more caseworkers had been tasked with processing applications, which was “tripling productivity to ensure more illegal migrants are returned to their country of origin, quicker”.

But the department’s top civil servant, Sir Matthew Rycroft, revealed in a letter to MPs that just 1,182 migrants who had crossed the Channel had been returned to their home country since 2020, out of a total of more than 111,800 who arrived in that time period.

The majority of those returned were from Albania, with whom the UK has a returns agreement.

In an appearance before the Commons Liaison Committee in December, the prime minister was unable to say when the remaining overall backlog of asylum claims would be cleared, which continued to rise and stood at 91,076 as of the end of November, not including legacy cases.

UK

Passengers injured after train hits trailer on level crossing near Leominster – as police arrest man

Published

2 hours ago

May 22, 2025

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Passengers injured after train hits trailer on level crossing near Leominster - as police arrest man

More than a dozen people have been injured after a train hit an agricultural trailer on a level crossing in Herefordshire, according to emergency services.

British Transport Police (BTP) said officers were called to the site north of Leominster at 10.40am on Thursday.

A man has been airlifted to hospital and a woman has also been taken to hospital.

A further 15 people, who were passengers on the train, were assessed by paramedics but discharged at the scene, West Midlands Ambulance Service said.

A spokesperson confirmed that nobody from the tractor-trailer required assessment.

Police have confirmed that a 32-year-old man from Bromyard has been arrested on suspicion of endangering safety on the railway.

Firefighters and officers from West Mercia Police also attended the scene.

A spokesperson for Transport for Wales (TfW) confirmed its 8.30am service between Manchester Piccadilly and Cardiff Central hit an “obstruction” at a crossing between Ludlow and Leominster.

All lines between the Hereford and Craven Arms stations are blocked and trains will not run between the two.

Replacement road transport is being put in place and TfW tickets are currently being accepted by Northern, Avanti, GWR and CrossCountry, it said.

Disruption is expected to last until the end of the day and a spokesperson for the company advised anyone travelling on Thursday to check before they travel.

A spokesperson for West Midlands Ambulance Service said it was “called to an incident on the railway track at Nordan Farm, Leominster, at 10.46am”.

“On arrival crews found a man who was a passenger on the train, they treated him for non-life threatening injuries before conveying him by air ambulance to Hereford County Hospital,” they added.

“A woman was also treated for injuries not believed to be serious and conveyed by land ambulance to Hereford County Hospital.”

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) said it had sent a team of inspectors to Leominster “between a passenger train and an agricultural trailer at a user worked level crossing”, which require people to operate the crossing themselves.

“Our inspectors will gather evidence as part of the process of conducting a preliminary examination and a decision on whether an investigation will be launched will be taken in the coming days,” the spokesperson added.

British Transport Police said its enquiries were ongoing into the full circumstances of the incident.

UK

Economy will have to be ‘strong enough’ for U-turn on winter fuel, business secretary says

Published

2 hours ago

May 22, 2025

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Economy will have to be 'strong enough' for U-turn on winter fuel, business secretary says

The economy will have to be “strong enough” for the government to U-turn on winter fuel payment cuts, the business secretary has said.

Jonathan Reynolds, talking to Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, also said the public would have to “wait for the actual budget” to make an announcement on it.

You can listen to the full interview on tomorrow’s Electoral Dysfunction podcast.

Sir Keir Starmer said on Wednesday he would ease the cut to the winter fuel payment, which has been removed from more than 10 million pensioners this winter after it became means-tested.

He and his ministers had insisted they would stick to their guns on the policy, even just hours before Sir Keir revealed his change of heart at Prime Minister’s Questions.

But Mr Reynolds revealed there is more at play to be able to change the policy.

“The economy has got to be strong enough to give you the capacity to make the kind of decisions people want us to see,” he said.

“We want people to know we’re listening.

“All the prime minister has said is ‘look, he’s listening, he’s aware of it.

“He wants a strong economy to be able to deliver for people.

“You’d have to wait for the actual budget to do that.”

What are the options for winter fuel payments?

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has looked into the government’s options after Sir Keir Starmer said he is considering changes to the cut to winter fuel payment (WFP).
The government could make a complete U-turn on removing the payment from pensioners not claiming pension credit so they all receive it again.
There could be a higher eligibility threshold. Households not claiming pension credit could apply directly for the winter fuel payment, reporting their income and other circumstances.
Or, all pensioner households could claim it but those above a certain income level could do a self-assessment tax return to pay some of it back as a higher income tax charge. This could be like child benefit, where the repayment is based on the higher income member of the household.
Instead of reducing pension credit by £1 for every £1 of income, it could be withdrawn more slowly to entitle more households to it, and therefore WFP.
At the moment, WFP is paid to households but if it was paid to individuals the government could means-test each pensioner, rather than their household. This could be based on an individual’s income, which the government already records for tax purposes. Individuals who have a low income could get the payment, even if their spouse is high income. This would mean low income couples getting twice as much, whereas each eligible house currently gets the same.
Instead of just those receiving pension credit getting WFP, the government could extend it to pensioners who claim means-tested welfare for housing or council tax support. A total of 430,000 renting households would be eligible at a cost of about £100m a year.
Pensioners not on pension credit but receiving disability credits could get WFP, extending eligibility to 1.8m households in England and Scotland at a cost of about £500m a year.
Pensioners living in a band A-C property could be automatically entitled to WFP, affected just over half (6.3m).

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has committed to just one major fiscal event a year, meaning just one annual budget in the autumn.

Autumn budgets normally take place in October, with the last one at the end of the month.

If this year’s budget is around the same date it will leave little time for the extra winter fuel payments to be made as they are paid between November and December.

UK

Kate names HMS Glasgow by smashing bottle of whisky against its hull

Published

2 hours ago

May 22, 2025

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Kate names HMS Glasgow by smashing bottle of whisky against its hull

The Princess of Wales has smashed a bottle of whisky against the hull of a new Royal Navy warship as she officially named it HMS Glasgow.

Kate pressed a button triggering an arm holding the single malt which crashed into the grey stealth-like vessel during the ceremony.

Later at a reception, the Prince of Wales said of the warship: “It’s massive, I can see that’s where the future is going.

“It’s quite impressive, it’s a hell of a piece of kit – screams UK power.”

HMS Glasgow is the first of eight Type 26 anti-submarine frigates to be built in Glasgow.

The princess, who was wearing a navy blue outfit with white details and a matching hat, said at the event on the River Clyde: “I have the pleasure to name this ship HMS Glasgow, may God bless her and all who sail on her.”

Smashing a bottle to name a ship is a centuries-old tradition that is believed to bring the vessel good luck.

It is usually done with champagne but can sometimes be carried out with a bottle of whisky instead.

In 2014, Queen Elizabeth II christened HMS Queen Elizabeth in Rosyth Dockyard by smashing a bottle of single malt whisky to reflect the role Scotland played in its construction.

Kate was joined by Prince William for the naming ceremony held at the ship’s allotted place on the Clyde, where the warship’s design and build was led by BAE systems.

Simon Lister, BAE Systems managing director, told those gathered for the ceremony: “In a world that continues to be volatile, we cannot underestimate the importance of this ship and the work we are doing here.”

William’s remarks are another gift for Whitehall

In some ways it still feels like a rare moment to see the Princess of Wales speaking centre stage like this.

Since she returned to work after her cancer diagnosis, this was probably her biggest crowd yet.

She stepped up to address hundreds of workers as sailors and family members had also gathered for the naming ceremony.

From those who help construct the ship to those who will sail on board, the emphasis was on the community that HMS Glasgow represents.

Prince William was with Kate to help celebrate that and what it means for the UK.

We know that the royals have been instrumental recently in highlighting Britain’s military capabilities.

The pictures from today, and the prince’s off-the-cuff comments that the ship “screams UK power” are another gift to those in Whitehall who want to show the UK is ready to meet the geopolitical challenges of today.

Watching the moment were dozens of BAE Systems staff and their families and senior Royal Navy officers who applauded as the whisky bottle broke, an exclusive single malt made by the Clydeside Distillery.

A contribution from each bottle sold will be donated to HMS Glasgow’s chosen charity, Place2Be, supporting children’s mental health in the Glasgow area, which Kate supports as patron.

The ceremony began with a royal salute from the ship’s company for William and Kate, also known by their Scottish titles the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay.

Second Sea Lord Vice Admiral Sir Martin Connell thanked the royal couple for their support and all those involved in the Type 26 endeavour.

He also hailed the latest ship as “a pure-bred anti-submarine warfare platform, setting the standard for naval warfare”, ready to “meet the global and geopolitical challenges of today”.

The second sea lord added: “HMS Glasgow and her class represent the next chapter of naval innovation, safeguarding the UK’s interests and contributing to national prosperity.”