UK government has announced plans for a new and fast-tracked asylum appeal process amid ongoing widespread hotel protests.
According to Independent, UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper called the delays in the appeals process “completely unacceptable” and promised to speed up the process.
This came after protests broke out in the country for using hotels to accommodate migrants, as there are about 51,000 asylum appeals that are pending and would take over a year on average for a decision.
Court delays in appeals are now considered the main cause of pressure in the asylum accommodation system, especially since steps were taken to speed up initial asylum decisions.
The new independent panel with trained experts will only focus on asylum appeals and reduce the backlog.
Cooper said, “We inherited an asylum system in complete chaos with a soaring backlog of asylum cases and a broken appeals system with thousands of people in the system for years on end.
“That is why we are taking practical steps to fix the foundations and restore control and order to the system. We are determined to substantially reduce the number of people in the asylum system as part of our plan to end asylum hotels,” she added.
The Home Secretary also claimed that since the election they have reduced the backlog of people waiting for initial decisions by 24% and increased failed asylum returns by 30%.
Meanwhile, the official figures released this month show a record 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year till June 2025, which is the highest number since 2001.
It is worth noting that ministers want appeals decided quickly, within 24 weeks, so the people who did not have the right to be in the UK could be removed faster.
