Labour's Asylum System Under Fire: Report Reveals Major Failures
Control of asylum system 'all but lost' under Labour, with Home Office unable to account for missing failed asylum seekers and a 'lack of realism' over reforms, damning report warns
Image: Mail Online
A report by the House of Commons' public accounts committee criticizes the Labour government's handling of the asylum system, stating control has been 'all but lost.' Key issues include a lack of data on failed asylum seekers and ineffective reforms, with MPs calling for a complete overhaul of the system.
- 01The Home Office has at least 41,000 failed asylum seekers awaiting deportation, with no clear data on absconders.
- 02The report highlights a lack of strategy in managing the asylum system, leading to a directionless bureaucracy.
- 03Asylum claims in the UK were 93,500 in the year to March, down from a record 106,000 but still above pre-pandemic levels.
- 04The government spent £4.9 billion on asylum in 2024-25, with plans for a new model to reduce costs by £1 billion annually by 2028-29.
- 05The report criticizes the government's failure to learn from past mistakes, risking repeated failures in the asylum system.
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A new report from the House of Commons' public accounts committee has condemned the Labour government's management of the asylum system, claiming it has 'all but lost control.' The report reveals a troubling situation where the Home Office lacks crucial data on failed asylum seekers, with at least 41,000 awaiting deportation and no information on how many have absconded. MPs criticized the absence of a coherent strategy, describing the bureaucracy as directionless and reactive. The report also pointed out that reforms have merely shifted backlogs rather than resolving them, with 41% of asylum claims still unresolved as of January 2023. The government has committed £4.9 billion to asylum in 2024-25 and announced plans for a new asylum model aimed at cutting costs by £1 billion annually by 2028-29, but the committee found no clear plan to achieve this. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood's proposals for an independent appeals body were deemed unrealistic, and the report highlighted the need for a complete overhaul of the asylum system.
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The asylum system's inefficiencies may lead to increased pressure on local services and communities as unresolved cases linger.
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