Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to provide administrative assistance to EU member states receiving the highest numbers of Syrian refugees to help them to process asylum claims.

The Government has been very clear that will offer practical assistance to Member states under pressure, both bi-laterally and through the European Asylum Support Office (EASO). We believe it is important to help build asylum and border security capacity and capability in other countries so that they are better able to deal with increased demands on their national systems.

We have already provided more resource – over 1,000 working days - to support missions coordinated by EASO to other Member States, such as Italy and Greece, than any other Member State. We continue to provide bi-lateral support to the Greek asylum system and on assisted voluntary return of illegal migrants.

We also support the European Commission’s proposals for Hot Spots that will help ensure that migrants are registered and fingerprinted and that refugees are identified and protected quickly, while those with no need of protection can be returned immediately. We will continue to provide resource and expertise to Member States under pressure as and when required.