New inspection focuses on quality of Home Office asylum decisions – submissions open until 2 July 2025
David Bolt, the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI), last week issued a call for evidence for a new inspection into asylum casework and the quality of Home Office asylum decisions.
The call for evidence is open for only one more week, closing on Wednesday, 2 July 2025. Submissions should be sent via email to the address provided in the ICIBI's official press release at Call for evidence: An inspection of asylum casework (2025).
Anyone with relevant knowledge or first-hand experience of asylum decision-making by the Home Office is encouraged to contribute. This includes legal professionals, NGOs, academics, support organisations, and individuals with lived experience.
The ICIBI is seeking evidence of both good and bad practice - in his words, he would be "pleased to hear about both what is working well and what could be improved" across key areas of the asylum process.
Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:
- the accessibility and clarity of Home Office guidance on the processing of asylum claims, including how decisions are made
- correspondence and communication with claimants and their representatives throughout the asylum process, including decision letters
- the conduct of substantive asylum interviews
- what other factors influence or affect the quality of asylum decisions
- views on the quality, consistency and accuracy of asylum decisions and whether these have changed since the beginning of 2024
- how the Home Office engages with stakeholders and responds to feedback on the quality of asylum decisions
The ICIBI's previous inspection report on asylum casework was published in February 2024, with the then Chief Inspector, David Neal, finding the politically driven focus on clearing the asylum backlog 'at all costs' had led to "perverse outcomes" for claimants and staff, with quality sacrificed for increased productivity.