Asylum casework is an area that the ICIBI has inspected several times in the past, most recently in 2023, shortly after the then Prime Minister’s pledge to clear the legacy asylum decision backlog. That inspection raised concerns that the focus on clearing the backlog ‘at all costs’ had resulted in the prioritisation of quantity over quality, with a potential negative impact on the efficiency of the end-to-end asylum process. This inspection – which examined the factors affecting the quality of asylum decision making – mirrored those findings. It found that while the Home Office had continued to make progress addressing the backlog of asylum cases awaiting a decision, decision quality had declined significantly and was at an unacceptable level, which had consequences for the rest of the system.
The inspection identified three overarching themes which may limit the impact of any individual fixes unless addressed. First, across Asylum and Human Rights Operations, which is now part of the Asylum Group within the Home Office, there were different versions of the truth on key issues, including internal target expectations, interview processes, quality versus productivity, and staff wellbeing, indicating a level of disconnected thinking that was affecting morale and inhibiting the effective functioning of operational teams.
Second, quality results and processes were also not where they needed to be. Quality targets for interviews and decisions had not been met across core decision making units for over two years, and quality assurance appeared to be tactical rather than strategic. Contributing factors included an emphasis on productivity targets, rushed recruitment and lower entry standards, compressed training that did not match recruits’ skill levels, and operational practices such as restrictive asylum interview processes.
Lastly, improvements can also be made to feedback loops and lessons-learned processes, as these were lacking at a high level and are essential to long-term improvement rather than secondary to productivity.
The inspection report was sent to the Home Secretary on 5 March 2026 and makes three recommendations. I am pleased that all three recommendations have been accepted in full, and that work to implement these recommendations is under way.
John Tuckett, Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration
25 June 2026