Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will issue a response to the report by Freedom from Torture, Proving Torture, published in November 2016; and if she will take steps to roll out training developed by her Department to decision-makers.

We consider all asylum claims in a sensitive manner on an individual, objective and impartial basis ensuring that all cases are managed effectively throughout the asylum process to avoid unnecessary delay.

The policy guidance sets out how to properly consider, and afford appropriate weight to, medico-legal evidence as part of a claim for protection. It states explicitly that it is not the role of decision makers to dispute clinical findings in the medico-legal reports or make clinical judgments of their own about medical evidence or medical matters generally and all decision makers are trained in the application of this policy. Officials will review the cases that are referred to in the report and will continue to work closely with Freedom from Torture and others to review and develop further our policy and training.

All members of staff who make decisions in asylum receive the same level of training. This 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 the training 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 effective safeguarding training product.