UK Inquiry Tracker

An analysis of the asylum system

Public Accounts Committee Open Inquiry

Opened: 12 Dec 2025 Parliament page

In December 2024, government committed to “restore order to the asylum and immigration system,” with a number of interventions and changes to policy including the UK-France treaty targeting illegal crossings and the pilot ‘one in, one out’ scheme enabling returns of failed asylum seekers. Almost 110,000 people claimed asylum in … Read more In December 2024, government committed to “restore order to the asylum and immigration system,” with a number of interventions and changes to policy including the UK-France treaty targeting illegal crossings and the pilot ‘one in, one out’ scheme enabling returns of failed asylum seekers. Almost 110,000 people claimed asylum in the year to March 2025, more than the previous peak in 2002, while the Home Office spent £4bn in asylum support in 2024-25 (down from £4.7bn in 2023-24). The National Audit Office has published its 2025 end-to-end analysis of the asylum system , from when a person lodges their application to the conclusion of their journey through the system. The analysis aims to highlight what needs to be done to improve efficiency, reduce unnecessary cost and drive more effective, high-quality outcomes. Its 2023 report on the Home Office’s programme speeding up asylum decisions to reduce costs found at the time that it was not clear whether efforts to clear the backlog of applications were sustainable. The PAC’s 2024 report into the Home Office’s acquisition of former HMP Northeye found that a troubling culture at the Home Office was allowing key controls in its processes to be easily abandoned. Its report the same year into asylum accommodation and the UK-Rwanda Partnership found little to show for the money spent on the scheme despite significant sums of money committed. Based on the NAO’s 2025 analysis, the PAC will hear from senior government officials across the several departments involved in the asylum system, as it carries out its full-spectrum overview of the system’s operation. If you have evidence on these issues, please submit here by 23:59 on Thursday 8 January 2026 . Please look at the requirements for written evidence submissions and note that the Committee cannot accept material as evidence that is published elsewhere. The Committee decides what information to publish and how. You can request anonymity or confidentiality when you send evidence, but it is for the Committee to say whether it will agree.It may treat submissions confidentially, even where you have not requested this. Please note that the Committee’s inquiry cannot assist with individual cases. If you need help with an individual problem you are having, you may wish to read the information on Parliament’s website about who you can contact with different issues. Show less

3 Recommendations

28 Conclusions

1 Report

1 Oral session

2 Letters

1 Event

Activity timeline 4 events

5 Jun
2026

Report published

1st Report - An analysis of the asylum system

2 Mar
2026

Correspondence

Letter from the Acting Permanent Secretary at the Home Office relating to the Committee’s evidence session on 19 January 2026 on Analysis o…

23 Feb
2026

Correspondence

Letter from the Second Permanent Secretary at the Home Office relating to a follow-up to the Committee’s evidence session 19 January 2026 o…

19 Jan
2026

Oral evidence

Oral evidence session

Oral evidence sessions 1 session

19 Jan 2026

View on parliament.uk

Dr Jo Farrar · Ministry of Justice Dr Rannia Leontaridi OBE · Home Office Emma Churchill · Ministry of Justice Josh Goodman · Office for Local Government Simon Ridley CB · Home Office

Reports 1 report · click to expand

Title	HC No.	Published	Items	Response
1st Report - An analysis of the asylum system	HC 89	5 Jun 2026	31	Pending

Recommendations & Conclusions

31 results

2 Recommendation

1st Report - An analysis of the as…

The Home Office has yet to demonstrate that it has learned from previous attempts to...

The Home Office has yet to demonstrate that it has learned from previous attempts to reform the asylum system, putting it at continued risk of repeating past failures. Recent reform efforts give us little confidence that the Home Office has … Read more The Home Office has yet to demonstrate that it has learned from previous attempts to reform the asylum system, putting it at continued risk of repeating past failures. Recent reform efforts give us little confidence that the Home Office has learned from previous attempts to restructure the asylum system. Too often, the Home Office has pursued major policy and operational change without a realistic grip on delivery risks, costs or system-wide impacts. The consequences are visible across the system today – for example, costly missteps such as acquiring Northeye, Bibby Stockholm and Scampton, which have now largely been abandoned. Furthermore, the NAO found that of 5,000 individuals who claimed asylum in January 2023, 41% were effectively “in limbo” – they were not granted asylum and their cases were still unresolved in the system. This includes failed asylum seekers, and those whose claims have been disqualified, suspended or withdrawn. Many remain in the UK for extended periods while awaiting deportation or without a final decision. This leaves a large cohort of people stuck in the asylum system for prolonged periods, creating uncertainty for individuals and driving up support costs. At the same time, pressures elsewhere have intensified, with appeals currently taking around 60 weeks to be heard. While the government has proposed further structural reform, including a new independent appeals body, which will be introduced through a phased transition alongside the existing tribunal, departments could still not explain how the new body will be resourced, how long dual running will last or how risks during this transition will be managed. They made repeated references to reforms being “in train”, but provided little evidence of a firm grip on effective delivery. This lack of realism echoes previous failed initiatives and leaves the Home Office at continued risk of repeating the same costly mistakes. 3 recommendation The Home Office should, alongside its Treasury Minute Show less

HM Treasury

An analysis of the asylum system

Activity timeline 4 events

Oral evidence sessions 1 session

Reports 1 report · click to expand

Recommendations & Conclusions

The Home Office has yet to demonstrate that it has learned from previous attempts to...

Poor data quality and weak management information continue to prevent effective management of the asylum...

Planning for how resources are allocated across the asylum system is fragmented and often reactive,...

The Home Office does not yet have a credible long-term strategy for asylum accommodation and...

The Home Office has not demonstrated it has the commercial capabilities needed to manage asylum...

The system of monitoring failed asylum seekers needs a complete overhaul.

On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence...

Officials described new governance arrangements intended to strengthen system-wide accountability.

We requested further details on how these arrangements operate in practice, including how departments consider...

The same underlying barriers to improvement of the asylum system have persisted for years, despite...

When we asked officials how lessons from earlier reforms had been embedded, the Home Office...

The NAO analysed a sample of 5,000 people who claimed asylum in January 2023 and...

We also examined lessons learned from recent accommodation initiatives.

Efforts in 2023 to clear the backlog of legacy claims also led to a notable...

Departments rely on accurate and timely data to understand how people move through the asylum...

We raised concerns that departments were often unable to respond to parliamentary questions because they...

Officials from both departments described ongoing challenges joining up information across systems.

We also heard evidence on how data is shared with local authorities, who require up-to-date...

We also raised concerns about limitations in data used to monitor people who are no...

Planning across the asylum system has had to respond to shifting pressures at different stages...

There is also no systematic approach for capturing learning from upheld appeals, which could otherwise...

On caseworking capacity, the Home Office told us that caseworker numbers had fluctuated in recent...

We also questioned departments on the increasing pressure on asylum accommodation and social housing across...

Accommodation continues to account for a large proportion of asylum-related spending, with pressure shifting as...

We raised concerns that local authorities often do not receive early notice of accommodation decisions.

In May 2025, the NAO reported that the Home Office was still reviewing its 10-year...

The Home Office also outlined funding available to local authorities to support asylum accommodation.

The NAO, Public Accounts Committee and Home Affairs Select Committee have each identified longstanding weaknesses...

The Home Office set out actions it is taking to strengthen its commercial capability and...

We also asked the Home Office about its approach to commercial incentives.

We questioned the Home Office specifically on how it would use excess profit clauses within...

Correspondence 2 letters