Rishi Sunak says pressure on the asylum system is unsustainable

Rishi Sunak has warned the UK's asylum strategy is facing unsustainable unit aft the outgo astir doubled successful a twelvemonth to astir £4bn.

The premier minister, who has made stopping tiny boats 1 of his apical 5 priorities, said the outgo was "unacceptable".

Home Office asylum spending roseate by £1.85bn successful the twelvemonth 2022/23.

Labour said the grounds precocious asylum backlog pointed to "disastrous" handling by Mr Sunak.

Home Office figures amusement Channel crossings roseate to 19,000 this twelvemonth contempt Mr Sunak's committedness to voters.

According to authorities statistics, the full outgo of the asylum strategy to the payer successful 2022/23 was £3.97bn - up from £2.12bn successful 2021/22.

Only a decennary agone that fig was £500.2m.

Statistics besides amusement 80% of asylum seekers are waiting longer than six months for an archetypal decision.

The premier curate told the Daily Express: "The champion mode to relieve the unsustainable pressures connected our asylum strategy and unacceptable costs to the payer is to halt the boats successful the archetypal place.

"That's wherefore we are focused connected our program to interruption the concern exemplary of the radical smugglers facilitating these journeys, including moving with planetary partners upstream to disrupt their efforts, stepping up associated enactment with the French to assistance trim crossings and tackling the asylum backlog."

Overall, a full of 175,457 radical were waiting for an archetypal determination connected an asylum exertion successful the UK astatine the extremity of June 2023 - this is the highest fig since records began successful 2010. It is besides up 44% from 122,213 for the aforesaid play past year.

Of these, 139,961 had been waiting longer than six months for an archetypal decision, up 57% twelvemonth connected twelvemonth from 89,231 and different grounds high.

Labour said the backlog amounted to a "disastrous record" for Mr Sunak and Home Secretary Suella Braverman, portion campaigners called for asylum claims to beryllium processed much efficiently.

The Home Office said the authorities was "on track" to wide the bequest backlog by the extremity of the twelvemonth and said advancement has been made since June.

Mr Sunak added: "We've already reduced the bequest backlog by implicit 28,000 - astir a 3rd - since the commencement of December and we stay connected way to conscionable our target.

"But we cognize determination is much to bash to marque definite asylum seekers bash not walk months oregon years - surviving successful the UK astatine immense disbursal to the payer - waiting for a decision."

Peter Walsh, elder researcher astatine the Migration Observatory astatine the University of Oxford, said it was becoming harder to spot however authorities could execute its pledge to destruct the bequest backlog of older claims by the extremity of the year, arsenic the complaint of decision-making would person to much than double.

An asylum seeker is simply a idiosyncratic who flees their location country, enters different state and applies for the close to planetary extortion and to enactment successful that country.

In the UK, asylum seekers are not allowed to enactment and indispensable trust connected authorities support. Housing is provided, but asylum seekers cannot take wherever it is. Small vessel arrivals relationship for 45% of the full fig of radical claiming asylum successful the UK.