PSA 5: Reduce unfounded asylum claims
as part of a wider strategy to tackle abuse of the immigration
laws and promote controlled legal migration
Scope and Responsibility
This target relates to all demographic groups and
the whole of the United Kingdom. Responsibility is shared between
the Home Office and the Department for Constitutional Affairs.
Definitions and Measurement Systems
An unfounded asylum claim is one where the applicant
and dependents of the applicant have not been granted full refugee
status (indefinite leave to remain) under the 1951 UN Convention,
either
at the initial decision stage or following appeals.
This includes:
- Failed asylum seekers (applicants refused refugee
status at the initial decision stage for which
no appeal is received, and applicants whose appeal
rights are exhausted); and
- Cases not granted refugee status but granted
temporary leave (humanitarian protection or discretionary leave)
at the initial decision stage or following appeal.
The target is measured as the absolute number of
unfounded claims in a year. The absolute number of claims includes
both the number of principal applicants and dependants.
Data on asylum applicants and decisions on granting
refugee status are contained within the "Control of Immigration
Statistics United Kingdom", and "Asylum Statistics United
Kingdom" published annually and quarterly by the Immigration
Research and Statistics Service (IRSS) of the Home Office. Performance
data, for the year as a whole, will be published in the asylum
statistics, on the Home Office website, as soon as possible after
the end of the financial year (once the data is judged sufficiently
reliable).
Baseline
The baseline period is the year 2002/03.
Success Criteria
The target will have been achieved if the number
of unfounded asylum claims in the year 2007/08 is less than in
the baseline year.
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