Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what training asylum caseworkers receive on processing and considering asylum claims involving allegations of torture or serious harm where a Medico-Legal report from the Medical Foundation Medico-Legal Report Service at Freedom from Torture or the Helen Bamber Foundation forms part of the evidence.

All members of staff who make decisions in asylum receive the same level of training. This includes a dedicated five-week foundation training programme that includes training on international and domestic law and safeguarding issues supplemented by a mentoring programme with an experienced caseworker that can last up to 6 months. Within this course there are specific sections that detail torture and Medico Legal Reports and how they should be used and analysed in asylum claims.

Asylum Operations recently received funding from the Asylum Migration and Integration Fund to review and redevelop its training prospectus. As part of that work, Asylum Operations is liaising with a range of external stakeholders -including migrant charities and non-governmental organisations - to ensure a robust and effectivesafeguarding training product.