The Home office has today published its quarterly immigration statistics covering the period between July and September 2017. You can see the Refugee Council’s response to these statistics below, and the statistics themselves here.

Judith Dennis, Policy Manager at the Refugee Council, said: “A 21% drop in asylum applications doesn’t signal that the world is a safer place, as much as we would like it to. On the contrary, more people are fleeing persecution than ever before. Deals with countries at the edge of Europe or Africa are preventing people from arriving here; trapping them in dangerous countries such as Libya or countries such as Turkey that don’t afford them the rights refugees should have. It is more vital than ever that the Government puts protection at the heart of global discussions. This means providing more safe, regular routes for people to travel to the UK in search of safety. For example, ensuring that people those living in precarious and unsustainable situations are able to unite with family members in the UK by more humane refugee family reunion policies.

“It is disgraceful that the numbers of people having to wait for unbearably long periods for the Home Office to decide their fate has risen so drastically. This means more and more lives spent in limbo and fear, which can have a hugely damaging impact on people’s mental health and chance to properly rebuild their lives here. These delays are indicative of an asylum system this is inefficient and needs urgent attention. Mammoth backlogs and overstretched capacity mean that the Home Office seems to lose sight of that fact that they are dealing with the lives of real people. The Home Office must address this issue immediately.”