Figures released yesterday show that 98,599 applicants are waiting for an initial decision on whether their claims are admissible- slightly larger than the backlog that Rishi Sunak promised to eradicate in 2022.
The statistics were released after the home secretary, James Cleverly, claimed the "legacy backlog" of cases from before June 2022 had been cleared. They also appear to show that growing numbers of cases are being defined as withdrawn or paused, and therefore removed from the official backlog list.
Labour accused the prime minister of pushing a "barefaced lie" by claiming the backlog had been cleared.
The statistics show that of the 112,138 initial asylum decisions made between January and 28 December 2023, 35,119 were "non-substantive decisions", which include withdrawn or paused applications.
This would mean that 31% of 2023 asylum decisions were withdrawn or paused, up from 22% in 2022 and 16% in 2021.
Bu hikaye The Guardian dergisinin January 03, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye The Guardian dergisinin January 03, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
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