| answer text |
<p>Asylum decision makers receive extensive mandatory training and mentoring on considering
asylum claims. We have a robust quality assurance strategy in place to ensure asylum
caseworkers meet the standard expected of them, and to ensure compliance with the
published policy.</p><p>Asylum Operations has an internal audit process which assesses
the quality of interviews, decisions, and the application of Home Office policy. We
have Senior Case Worker assessments as well as independent auditors from Central Operations
who audit asylum cases and provide quarterly reports. The quality of asylum interviews
and decisions are systematically assessed against a detailed audit framework drawn
up in consultation with external partners, which includes checks on compliance with
existing asylum polices, relevant case law and the appropriate country of origin information
reports.</p><p>To help reduce the backlog of applications for asylum or temporary
protection we are investing in a programme of transformation and business improvement
initiatives which will speed up and simplify our processes, reduce the time people
spend in the asylum system and decrease the number of people who are awaiting an interview
or decision. These initiatives include conducting shorter, more focused interviews
or omitting interviews where it is appropriate to do so, streamlining decision templates
for grants and refusals and focusing on improving quality to ensure decisions are
right first time. We have extensive recruitment and training plans in place, including
career progression options to aid the retention of staff.</p><p>We are continuing
to develop existing and new technology to help build on recent improvements such as
digital interviewing and move away from a paper-based system. We are streamlining
and digitising the case working process to enable more effective workflow, appointment
booking and decision-making. Additionally, we have introduced specialist Decision
Making Units, providing greater ownership and management of cohorts of asylum cases.</p>
|
|
