Alison Bennett
Main Page: Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat - Mid Sussex)Department Debates - View all Alison Bennett's debates with the Home Office
(5 days, 6 hours ago)
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Shabana Mahmood
There are no easy options having inherited a broken asylum system and in which there are asylum hotels, which were opened by the Conservative party, in operation across the whole of the country. We believe that large military sites are a better way of reducing the burden felt by communities across the country, including in Scotland. I reassure my hon. Friend that, by the end of this Parliament, we will get out of every single asylum hotel, including in his constituency.
Alison Bennett (Mid Sussex) (LD)
In her response, the Home Secretary noted the speeding-up of processing times, but I wonder whether enough is being done on that. Surely, making sure that asylum seekers are processed as fast as possible is the route to closing the hotels.
Shabana Mahmood
Asylum claims are being processed at the fastest rate for 20 years, so we are moving very quickly to deal with those claims. As I am sure the hon. Lady knows, though, many of those people go on to appeal, and there is a backlog at the court. That is why we will be reforming our appeals system in legislation later this year.