LONDON (Reuters) -Britain plans to reform its asylum appeals process to accelerate decisions, reduce a backlog of cases and phase out the use of hotels to house asylum seekers, it said on Sunday, seeking to respond to mounting public pressure over the issue.
With immigration polling as the public’s top concern, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government has been under pressure to deliver on its pledge to end hotel use which is costing billions of pounds a year.
Under the new plans, an independent body of professional adjudicators would be established to handle asylum appeals, seeking to reduce the backlog of 106,000 cases waiting to be heard, including 51,000 asylum appeals pending with average wait times exceeding a year.
Official figures on Thursday showed asylum claims were at a record high, with more migrants being housed in hotels compared with a year ago.
Interior minister Yvette Cooper said on Sunday the changes were part of efforts to “restore control and order” to a system she described as “in complete chaos” when Labour took office last year.
“We cannot carry on with these completely unacceptable delays,” Cooper said, citing the financial burden of hotel accommodation and the need to return failed asylum seekers more swiftly.
The new body would have statutory powers to prioritise appeals, both from those in expensive asylum accommodation, and from foreign national offenders who might be prioritised for expulsion from Britain.
A legal requirement would also be introduced for such appeals to be resolved within 24 weeks.
The announcement follows a court ruling ordering the removal of asylum seekers from a hotel in Epping, north-east of London, which has become a flashpoint for anti-immigration protests.
The government is appealing the decision, insisting hotel closures must be “ordered and managed”.
(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti; Editing by David Holmes)
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