Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to resolve efficiently immigration cases that have raised issues on the European Convention on Human Rights.

Immigration cases which raise issues under the ECHR are primarily those made as family and private life claims. These can be very complex and this may extend the time taken to make a decision on the application. This may be due to the customer’s individual circumstances, the need for further evidence, or when further information raises issues that require consideration.

Factors such as legal challenges, amendments to the immigration rules, policy and processes may also contribute to the overall processing time of an application.

The transparency data published quarterly shows that the number of human rights (Article 8)/complex cases in progress at quarter three of 2017 was reported to be 49,950. At quarter three of 2018 was reported to be 39,000.

Sources [at tabs InC_03]:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/in-country-migration-data-november-2017

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/in-country-migration-data-november-2018