Home Office Minister Robert Jenrick updated Parliament on tackling illegal migration and also confirmed that for those in need of a safe and legal route into the UK, between 2015 and June 2023, 553,000 people have entered the UK.
In response James welcomed the progress in tacking the backlog of asylum claims. By streamlining the asylum decision making process, as of 1 September the commitment to have 2,500 decision markers was met, an increase of 174%. As a result of this, the Government are on track to clear the legacy backlog by the end of the year with figures published for July showing the overall backlog fell.
Last month the Home Office resettled the thousandth refugee through the community sponsorship scheme.
Since the deal with Albania in December last year, more than 3,500 immigration offenders have been returned on weekly flights. This has resulted in a 90% reduction in the number of Albanians attempting to arrive illegally. In 2023 so far, there have been 12,600 returns, with returns in the first half of this year 75% higher than in the same period last year
As of 5 September 2023 illegal migration arrivals are down by 20% compared with last year.
Transcript:
James Wild MP
I welcome the progress in processing applications. Will my right hon. Friend commit that the extra resources will be maintained and the focus on productivity improved to deal with the legacy events and then other cases, while doing the important work of stopping the flow?
Minister for Immigration, Robert Jenrick MP
Yes, I was very pleased that we met our pledge to increase the number of decision makers to 2,500 from 1 September. That is coupled with management changes so that there are financial incentives and proper accountability for the civil servants involved. We are seeing now the fruits of that labour, with a much more productive service than we have seen for many years.
