Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of qualified staff required to ensure that asylum seekers' claims are properly assessed; and how many qualified staff are currently employed to make such assessments.

The Home Office currently has a published service standard to make an asylum decision on 98% of straightforward claims within 6 months of the date of the claim being lodged.

The Home Office has rolling recruitment campaigns to maintain the number of Decision Makers at levels which allow cases to be progressed in line with service standards.