Repairing the United Kingdom's Asylum System

Abstract The United Kingdom's asylum system for assessing and managing the processing of claims for international protection is widely perceived as fundamentally broken. For some its dysfunction lies in the numbers claiming asylum and the absence of control over their entry. For others the problems center on the danger that asylum seekers endure to reach the United Kingdom and the protracted and dehumanising nature of the process they endure. All can agree that the system is costing far too much at present due to the need to accommodate the very considerable number of asylum seekers awaiting a decision. The linked issues of delay and cost have now been substantially addressed. But there are new problems looming. These all revolve around dealing with the pathway to either integration or departure. Delays in the appeal system, lack of focus on voluntary and involuntary departures, misuse of detention spaces and improving the integration of refugees all need urgent attention.