UK Government Plans Fast-Track Asylum Appeals to Reduce Backlog

The UK government, led by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, is introducing a new fast-track asylum appeals process to address significant delays and reduce the backlog of 51,000 pending appeals, which currently take over a year on average to resolve. This overhaul aims to speed up the removal of failed asylum seekers and ease pressure on the asylum accommodation system, particularly the use of hotels for housing migrants, which has sparked protests across the country. A new independent panel staffed by professionally trained adjudicators, rather than judges, will focus exclusively on asylum appeals and operate under a 24-week deadline for decisions. The current tribunal system is considered inefficient and unable to handle fast-track processing for safe countries, prompting the government to draw on European models for reform. Cooper emphasized that the previous asylum system was in chaos, with soaring backlogs and a broken appeals process, and pledged a system that is swift, fair, and independent. Further details of the reforms will be announced in the autumn as the government seeks to restore order and reduce taxpayer costs associated with prolonged asylum proceedings.