𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

The UK asylum appeals backlog has almost doubled in a year to hit a record high, new figures show. There were 80,333 cases in the system at the end of December, up from 41,987 at the same point in 2024.

Data published by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) showed that 36% of appeals were successful between October and December last year, down from 46% in the equivalent period in 2024. Meanwhile, the average waiting time for asylum appeals was 63 weeks, up from 48 weeks at the end of December 2024.

Tory Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “The courts are being used as a holding pen for illegal immigration, feeding a growing court backlog and immense burden for taxpayers.

“This is precisely why the next Conservative Party will ban asylum claims for illegal entrants in the first instance, and will abolish the Immigration Tribunal in its entirety.

“As long as appeals are unlimited, the issue will continue. The Conservatives will shut this system down and replace it with fast, final decisions made under the purview of ministers.

“No one is fooled by tough talk from Labour, as they will never do the hard work needed to tackle the lawfare that blocks removals. Only the Conservatives are prepared to do what control requires.”

The Refugee Council said many people face being “stuck” in hotels and other asylum accommodation while they wait for a decision on their case.

The group’s director of external affairs Imran Hussain said: “These figures demonstrate what has been obvious for a long time – poor quality decision-making by the Home Office is forcing people into an appeals process, meaning that it can take years to reach the correct decision.

“In our frontline work, we see so many men, women and children whose hopes for safety rest on their asylum applications, but they are often met with flawed decisions that don’t address the facts of their situation.

“While they wait for an appeal, many are stuck in asylum accommodation, unable to work or rebuild their lives, at huge cost to the public purse.

“People who have fled violence and persecution in places like Sudan and Afghanistan deserve a quick and accurate decision the first time around.

“If the Government focused on improving initial decision-making, they could clear the backlog, reduce the cost of keeping people in expensive and unsuitable asylum accommodation, and avoid putting refugees through months of uncertainty.”

Statistics published at the end of last year showed that the backlog of asylum appeals was, for the first time, higher than the backlog of cases waiting for an initial decision on an application.

Experts have previously warned that the backlog in appeals underlines the challenges Labour faces over its pledge to end the use of hotels for migrants.