Asylum: Coronavirus

(asked on 17th December 2020) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December to Question 128332, what assessment she has made of the effect of the covid-19 pandemic on her Department’s capacity in asylum operations intake units.


Answered by
Chris Philp Portrait
Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
This question was answered on 11th January 2021

Pursuant to the answer of 15th December 2020, the temporary regional intake unit in Cardiff has been in operation since April 2020, as part of the Home Office response to the COVID pandemic.

There are no processing capacity limits on the additional temporary locations introduced to register asylum claims.

The Home Office aims to ensure all locations are sufficiently resourced to provide timely appointments to register asylum claims. Capacity is based upon demand and workforce availability at these temporary locations which enables them to cope with fluctuations in levels of asylum intake.

Asylum claims registered at these temporary regional locations are processed in accordance with policy, fulfilling the UKs statutory obligations in relation to registering asylum claims in a Covid safe environment.

These are temporary arrangements which will be kept under review to align with HMG guidance. These changes do not represent a new operating model - they are contingency measures put in place during the COVID-19 epidemic in order to ensure that asylum seekers are able to safely register their claims.

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