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| Asylum case target 'unachievable' | |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| A key Home Office target of dealing with 90% of asylum applications within six months is "unachievable", an independent watchdog has warned. | A key Home Office target of dealing with 90% of asylum applications within six months is "unachievable", an independent watchdog has warned. |
| The chief inspector of the UK Border Agency, John Vine, said the complexity and volume of cases the agency must deal with had created a backlog. | The chief inspector of the UK Border Agency, John Vine, said the complexity and volume of cases the agency must deal with had created a backlog. |
| Ministers want the target met by the end of 2011 but Mr Vine said this would not happen without hiring more staff. | Ministers want the target met by the end of 2011 but Mr Vine said this would not happen without hiring more staff. |
| The agency's chief executive Lin Homer said cases were being resolved faster. | The agency's chief executive Lin Homer said cases were being resolved faster. |
| Mr Vine's role is to give independent scrutiny of the work of the agency. | Mr Vine's role is to give independent scrutiny of the work of the agency. |
| In a report published on Friday, he said the agency would have to more than double its current work rate if it was to clear up about 200,000 outstanding cases dating back several years by a separate target of July 2011. | |
| He said officials would need to clear 11,000 cases a month but were currently getting through fewer than 5,000. | He said officials would need to clear 11,000 cases a month but were currently getting through fewer than 5,000. |
| 'Fleeing persecution' | 'Fleeing persecution' |
| Mr Vine said considerable progress had been made since the asylum processing target was first announced three years ago but highlighted the fact that 30,000 cases had already taken longer than six months to resolve. | Mr Vine said considerable progress had been made since the asylum processing target was first announced three years ago but highlighted the fact that 30,000 cases had already taken longer than six months to resolve. |
| This was because either because officials had not been able to make a decision or it had proved impossible to remove failed asylum-seekers. | This was because either because officials had not been able to make a decision or it had proved impossible to remove failed asylum-seekers. |
| Mr Vine said: "Some of the most vulnerable people in society who are claiming asylum, their cases are not being dealt within the six-month period, and I think that's regrettable. | Mr Vine said: "Some of the most vulnerable people in society who are claiming asylum, their cases are not being dealt within the six-month period, and I think that's regrettable. |
| "These people are fleeing persecution from other countries and it's the responsibility of the British government and the UK Border Agency in particular to make sure their cases are dealt with expeditiously." | "These people are fleeing persecution from other countries and it's the responsibility of the British government and the UK Border Agency in particular to make sure their cases are dealt with expeditiously." |
| Ms Homer, said the agency was working on a plan to deal with claims still outstanding after six months. | Ms Homer, said the agency was working on a plan to deal with claims still outstanding after six months. |
| She added: "The UK Border Agency is concluding asylum cases faster than ever before, with the majority concluded within six months, down from an average of 22 months in 1997." | She added: "The UK Border Agency is concluding asylum cases faster than ever before, with the majority concluded within six months, down from an average of 22 months in 1997." |
| Donna Covey, chief executive of the Refugee Council charity, said it was in "everyone's interests" that asylum cases were concluded quickly and fairly. | |
| She said: "It is one thing to have targets, it is another to make them so unrealistic that not only are they not met but, crucially, they result in the wrong decision being made and an often lengthy appeals process. |