The UK government has announced plans to establish a new independent body to speed up asylum appeals, in a bid to cut the number of migrants being housed in hotels.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the reforms would address “unacceptable delays” in the current system, where appeals often take more than a year to be heard. The new tribunal, staffed by independent adjudicators, is expected to deliver quicker rulings and ease the backlog of cases.
At present, more than 32,000 asylum seekers are accommodated in hotels, despite ministers pledging to phase out the practice during this parliament. Figures show that around 51,000 appeals are still awaiting decisions.
Cooper stressed that while progress had been made on speeding up initial asylum decisions, the appeals process remained a major obstacle.
“We need to take practical steps to ensure the system works efficiently and fairly, and to end the reliance on hotel use,” she said.
