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<p>The Home Office does not publish data on the average time taken to make a decision
on an asylum application. In addition, we cannot provide data on the average time
taken to receive a decision in particular region such as Yorkshire and Humber, such
data can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.</p><p><br>However, the Home Office
does publish data on the number of pending applications that have been awaiting an
initial decision for more or less than 6 months. This data can be found at Volume
1, as_01 of the Immigration Statistics December 2018: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-december-2018/list-of-tables#asylum"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-december-2018/list-of-tables#asylum</a></p><p>In
line with our ambition to promote a greater understanding and transparency of the
asylum system and to develop service standards that are meaningful and command confidence,
plans are underway for UKVI to implement new service standards for asylum case working.
This change means UKVI will be moving away from the six-month service standard for
straightforward cases which was introduced in 2014.</p><p>It had become clear that
the current service standard no longer best served those that used our services and
a number of stakeholders had been concerned that not all cases were captured by it.</p><p>For
these reasons, it has been agreed to change how Asylum Operations proritise their
workload. This means, in the short term, Asylum Operations will reprioritise cases
by focusing on claims with acute vulnerability and those in receipt of the greatest
level of support, including Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC). Additionally,
cases where an individual has already received a decision, but a reconsideration is
required, will also be prioritised. The implications of the change on applicants have
been considered and appropriate mitigations put in place, with the most vulnerable
groups being prioritised as appropriate.</p><p>The intention is for this approach
to bring balance back to the asylum system while steps are taken to increase the capacity
of the asylum decision making system and focus on process improvements to deliver
better quality decisions more efficiently.</p><p>To come to a longer-term arrangement
for service standards that meet the needs of those seeking asylum and the country,
UKVI have engaged with key partners in the Strategic Engagement Group (SEG) and other
NGOs to redesign the way in which claims are prioritised. This engagement started
on 4 December 2018 and over 100 organisations were invited to service standards workshops,
which included members of SEG and National Asylum Stakeholder Forum (NASF) sub groups.
41 organisations out of the 100 attended workshops nationally.</p><p>We aim to ensure
that we design our new service standards to deliver a world leading immigration service
for those seeking asylum in the UK.</p><p> </p>
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