Government plans to overhaul asylum appeals system

The government is considering a reform of the asylum appeals process in an attempt to minimize the number of migrants staying in hotels while waiting for a decision. With a new body staffed by independent adjudicators, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said she was taking concrete steps to avoid unacceptable delays. The government has been under increasing pressure to reduce its reliance on asylum hotels, with protests taking place across the UK on Saturday, the latest in a string of protests over the policy. The Refugee Council's response to BBC that the best way to "getting fewer appeals is getting decisions right first time.

Ministers have promised to reduce the use of hotels in this parliament, but 32,000 asylum seekers are still incarcerated in them. Cooper said that although initial decisions on asylum applications had been expedited, there had been unacceptable delays when people who had been turned down and appealed. An appeal is currently taking less than a year to be heard, and 51,000 cases are awaiting a decision. During this period, failed asylum seekers are taken care of at taxpayer expense. So a new committee of independent adjudicators will be selected to deal with appeals, with ministers claiming that it will move faster than the courts. The government has promised to provide more details into how it can help with cases in the fall. The Conservatives have said that the system is in chaos, while Reform UK has called for mass deportation of those who arrive by unlawful or irregular routes. According to Imran Hussain of the Refugee Council, reducing appeals was

the fastest way to get the appeals backlog down. According to him, around half of people's initial decision was reversed by appeal because

It's really important that when we're discussing these life and death decisions on asylum, there is judicial oversight so the courts will step in if the law isn't followed,

Where asylum seekers are held has risen insecurity this week. Demonstrators assembled in Bristol, Liverpool, and London on Saturday, as well as in Mold in Wales, Perth in Scotland, and County Antrim in Northern Ireland. In several places where anti-racism activists mounted counter-demonstrations, police stepped in to keep opposing groups divided. In Bristol, a 37-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of attacking an emergency responder, and 11 arrests were made in Liverpool. Since a resident asylum seeker was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old teen in the town, epping has been a focal point for protesters since July. The council was granted a provisional injunction to prohibit asylum seekers from being housed at the Bell Hotel on Tuesday, after it said that the hotel had violated local planning controls by changing its tactics, resulting in incidents that were a public safety risk. Residents must be evacuated by 16:00 on September 12th. The government is requesting the right to appeal the High Court's decision. Cooper said that the government had agreed to closing all asylum facilities, but that it had to do so in a "properly controlled manner.

Following the decision, a number of other councils, including Tory-controlled Hillingdon, which now houses 2,238 asylum seekers, is reportedly considering taking court action. Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, wrote an open letter urging Conservative council leaders

to take the same action if your legal advice supports it,