Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum decisions were made without substantive asylum interviews in 2022.

The Home Office is unable to provide this information as it is not held in a reportable format, and therefore could only be obtained at disproportionate costs.

Video technology has been successfully used to support remote interviewing for more than 3 years and has appropriate operating procedures that are designed to ensure participants are able to give the best account of their circumstances. We are also able to offer in person interviews for those seeking asylum if requested or required where additional needs are presented.

The Home Office carefully considers all asylum claims on a case-by-case basis against published immigration rules, policy guidance and country information.