Press Story

Today’s statistics from the Home Office reveal that:

There has been a major surge in decisions made by the Home Office in the final quarter of 2023. This includes over 15,000 refusals, triple the number in the previous quarter. While this has helped to clear much of the legacy backlog, it will lead to new pressures in other parts of the asylum system – including appeals, further submissions, and returns.
There were over 8,000 withdrawals in the last quarter of the year, three quarters of which were ‘implicit’ (ie the Home Office chose to withdraw applications because people did not turn up to interviews or were late in returning questionnaires.) Figures published previously by the Home Office suggest that, of all withdrawals in the year ending September 2023, around 5,600 are cases still in the UK who the Home Office has lost contact with. These groups are at a high risk of destitution and exploitation. The latest figures could exacerbate this issue further.
The total asylum backlog has started to fall, but the Home Office will struggle to resolve more recent cases. IPPR estimates that, as of 28 December 2023, up to 55,500 cases were stuck in a new ‘perma-backlog’ under the Illegal Migration Act, because they cannot in general be granted permission to stay and/or the home secretary would be obliged to remove them once the Act is fully implemented.

Responding to the statistics, Marley Morris, IPPR associate director for migration, trade and communities, said:

“In a bid to clear the ‘legacy backlog’ at the end of last year, the Home Office has surged through an exceptional number of asylum cases, with a sharp rise in both refusals and withdrawals. But these quick decisions could come back to haunt the Home Office. The government will now have to handle a large caseload of appeals, fresh claims and returns.

“At the same time, the Home Office also needs to decide how to handle the growing 'perma-backlog' of asylum claims which would be subject to the duty to remove under the Illegal Migration Act once it is implemented in full. Leaving these claims on hold indefinitely is bad for claimants stuck in limbo and bad for the Home Office, given the ongoing costs of accommodating people in hotels”.

ENDS

Marley Morris, associate director for migration at IPPR, is available for interview

CONTACT

Liam Evans, Senior Digital and Media Officer: 07419 365334 l.evans@ippr.org

David Wastell, Director of News and Communications: 07921 403651 d.wastell@ippr.org

NOTES TO EDITORS

IPPR’s latest analysis on the asylum backlog can be found here: https://www.ippr.org/articles/the-asylum-backlog-job-done

IPPR’s 2023 briefing on the asylum system can be found here: https://www.ippr.org/research/publications/the-asylum-in-tray-in-2025

IPPR (the Institute for Public Policy Research) is an independent charity working towards a fairer, greener, and more prosperous society. We are researchers, communicators, and policy experts creating tangible progressive change, and turning bold ideas into common sense realities. Working across the UK, IPPR, IPPR North, and IPPR Scotland are deeply connected to the people of our nations and regions, and the issues our communities face. We have helped shape national conversations and progressive policy change for more than 30 years. From making the early case for the minimum wage and tackling regional inequality, to proposing a windfall tax on energy companies, IPPR’s research and policy work has put forward practical solutions for the crises facing society. www.ippr.org