London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 22, 2025

Tough asylum cases handled by new Home Office staff, say insiders

Tough asylum cases handled by new Home Office staff, say insiders

The Home Office is blighted by delays in dealing with asylum claims, as inexperienced and low-paid staff are hired to handle applications, several insiders have told BBC Two's Newsnight.

Staff said this was slowing down decisions, leading to long, expensive hotel stays for asylum seekers.

More than 127,000 people are waiting for a decision, latest official figures for June 2022 show.

The Home Office said it was boosting the number of claims processed.

It comes as Home Secretary Suella Braverman is set to appear before the Home Affairs Select Committee later, where she will answer questions from MPs on asylum and immigration.

Three people who work in the department have spoken to Newsnight to warn about the impact on Home Office decisions being made about asylum seekers.

One person with several years of experience working in the department said: "To make and write decisions is more difficult than people think.

"They're hiring large numbers of inexperienced staff who need to be trained to do this and that takes time, so the backlog grows.

"And it's young staff facing these harrowing stories and earning low wages - so what's the incentive to stay?

"There isn't one… so they leave and then they hire someone else and so it continues."

According to the latest Home Office figures, by the end of June this year there were 103,083 cases - relating to 127,026 people - in the asylum backlog.

That is more than three times the number of cases that were awaiting for an initial decision in December 2017, when 29.522 were in the backlog.

Another Home Office employee said they were working "long and gruelling" hours.

"People work desperate hours every day. They're hiring more decision-makers but some haven't worked in this area before, so it's taking them longer to learn and that slows it all down," they said.

"It takes a while to get them up to speed and my worry is that the wrong decisions could be made affecting the lives of vulnerable people."

The "low civil service" pay grade for the role can also "turn [staff] off" the role too, according to some with knowledge of how the Home Office works.

The Institute for Government think tank said there were hundreds more caseworkers in the Home Office working on asylum applications than there were a decade ago - but they were making fewer decisions.

It said in 2021-22, there were 614 caseworkers who made an average of five asylum decisions per month per staff member, compared to 380 caseworkers with a productivity rate of 13.7 decisions in 2011-12.

There are more than 37,000 asylum seekers currently living in UK hotels, costing the taxpayer almost £7m per day. The speed at which the backlog is dealt with dictates the duration of stay in hotels and the cost to the taxpayer.


Home Secretary Suella Braverman is set to face questions from MPs later

The Home Office said it was a "short-term solution" while it was working hard with local authorities to find suitable accommodation for them.

It added it was doing what it could to address the situation, and had "increased asylum caseworkers by 80% to more than 1,000". It said "a successful pilot scheme to boost the number of claims processed is now being rolled out across the country".

It said there was a "comprehensive training and mentoring programme" to support the people making the decisions.

Labour's Yvette Cooper said the process was "a mess" and "decision-making has collapsed".

The shadow home secretary said there had been "repeated warnings" about the shortage of specialists and poor training and supervision had led to the backlog in cases.

The Nationality and Borders Bill had added "an additional six-month delay on thousands of cases", she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Decisions were not being made and the Home Office's "own legislation has added to bureaucracy and to the costs", said Ms Cooper.

More than 40,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel in small boats this year.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the Home Office said it had cleared the Manston migrant processing centre in Kent, a holding site for people who arrive in the UK on small boats.

It had been criticised over the conditions at the centre - where thousands of migrants were placed in tents during the autumn.

A man who was staying at Manston died in hospital after becoming unwell on Saturday, and an investigation has been launched into his death.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
×