Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum applicants were waiting for an asylum interview to be undertaken as of 1 September 2022; hoe many of those cases pending had been waiting (a) beyond the published timescales, (b) for over one year and (c) in excess of two years; and if she will make a statement.

The Home Office is unable to state how many asylum claimants were awaiting their asylum interview as of 1 September 2022, or how many claimants had been waiting (a) beyond the published timescales, (b) for over one year and (c) in excess of two years. This data is not held in a reportable format, not routinely published and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

However, the Home Office does publish data on the number of asylum claims awaiting an initial decision by duration, for main claimant only. This data can be found at Asy_04 of the published Immigration Statistics:

List of tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

The Home Office is committed to ensuring asylum claims are considered without unnecessary delay; that individuals who need protection are granted asylum as soon as possible so that they can start to integrate and rebuild their lives.