London: The UK’s asylum backlog dropped by almost a third in a year, but started to creep up again in the spring, new figures showed on Thursday.
Home Office statistics show a total of 118,882 people were waiting for an initial decision on an asylum application in the UK at the end of June 2024, down by 32 percent from 175,457 at the end of June 2023, which was the highest figure since current records began in 2010. But the latest total is up slightly from the 118,329 waiting to be dealt with at the end of March this year, indicating a rise in the last three months of the 12-month period.
The number of asylum seekers waiting more than six months for an initial decision stood at 76,268 at the end of June, down 46 percent from the record 139,961 at the end of June 2023.
A think tank said the figures showed the backlog had "barely changed” in the last few months while ministers were "distracted” by efforts to send migrants to Rwanda in a bid to deter Channel crossings. Academics said asylum processing had stagnated. (DPA)