Commenting on the quarterly immigration statistics released by the Home Office on 22 August 2024 and relating to the year ending June 2024, Imran Hussain, Executive Director of External Affairs at the Refugee Council, said:
On the asylum backlog
Today’s figures again show that the last government left an asylum system in meltdown as a result of the Rwanda plan and the Illegal Migration Act, which effectively banned asylum in the UK. The chaos resulted in more than 118,000 men, women and children waiting for an initial decision on their claim and productivity of Home Office decision makers in the months before the election was at its lowest since the height of the Covid pandemic.
The new Government’s course change to serious reform on asylum policy is necessary and welcome, but it will take time to move the system from a state of crisis to being fit for purpose. Swiftly and accurately processing asylum claims must be a top priority, along with enough support for new refugees to rebuild their lives.
Despite some progress on reducing the use of hotels, there were still nearly 30,000 people seeking asylum living in hotels at the end of June. Hotels should never be used as accommodation, as people in asylum hotels are isolated, struggle with their mental health, and may be targeted by far-right attacks, as we saw a few weeks ago.
On safe routes and Channel crossings
It’s encouraging to see a significant increase in family reunion visas issued, as the Home Office works through the backlog that had built up, and we are thrilled that many refugee families who have been separated for a long time can finally be reunited. The new Government must continue to build on this progress. Overall, resettlement figures remain very low, with fewer than 400 people resettled via the UK’s flagship scheme over the course of the year.
It’s also positive to see an increase in arrivals of Afghan refugees via the official Afghan refugee scheme (ACRS pathway 2), although Afghans are still the top nationality arriving in small boats across the Channel, meaning that too many are still desperate to find a way to safety.
To reduce dangerous Channel crossings, the new Government must invest time and effort into improving and expanding safe routes to the UK, as well as cooperating with international partners including France and the EU. Only then can we begin to see a refugee protection system that is fair and compassionate. ■
