Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to introduce the new service standard for deciding asylum claims.

For the year 2020, we are continuing to prioritise claims to concentrate on older claims, cases with acute vulnerability and those in receipt of the greatest level of support, including Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC). Additionally, we are prioritising cases where an individual has already received a decision, but a reconsideration is required.

Asylum Operations are dealing with sustained high levels of new applications which is creating pressure, however we are working to balance the overall needs of the system to ensure cases are appropriately prioritised.

There have been some operational challenges resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak that has impacted our decision making across all claims.

We are continuing to formulate plans on a new service standard for all asylum claims, which should provide asylum seekers and partners with clear expectations of how and when a decision should be made.