Minister pledges fast but fair asylum system - New asylum teams for West London and the South East2007-02-10 | |
| A new Home home office facility to accelerate asylum decisions and increase integration of refugees and removal of failed asylum seekers was officially opened today near Heathrow Airport by the Immigration Minister Liam Byrne. Delivering on the Home Secretary, John Reid's, promise in his review of immigration to fast track asylum decisions, the teams who are based around the UK aim, by the end of 2011, to resolve 90 per cent of new asylum cases within six months of the application being made. This will be achieved by delivering a system in which one caseworker is assigned to deal with each case from beginning to end - ensuring continuity within the system. The Government has already made significant progress in reforming its immigration and asylum systems; annual asylum applications are at their lowest level since 1993, and the majority of initial decisions are now taken in just eight weeks. And in the first two quarters of 2006 the Government broke records for the number of failed asylum seekers successfully removed. Liam Byrne said:
During his visit the Minister met some of the 48 case owners who as part of the new teams will represent the Home Office at every stage of the decision making process from interviewing an asylum applicant to serving an initial decision and then managing integration or removal. The Minister also took the opportunity during his visit to meet with representatives from local government and voluntary organisations and the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal. © Crown Copywrite |
Related:
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Immigration and Nationality Directorate Working in the UK
Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner OISC
UK Visas |