Overview
- On Thursday, Ministry of Justice data showed outstanding asylum appeals had reached 90,341 and the overall immigration courts backlog stood at 155,798.
- The Home Office says its initial‑decision queue has been cut from about 90,812 in June 2025 to 40,168, and that faster first‑instance decisions have increased the number of appeals for the tribunal to handle.
- Tribunal outputs rose with final First‑tier decisions up to 4,828, but disposals included a very high withdrawal rate of 37 percent and an appeals allowed rate of about 39 percent, indicating many initial refusals are later reversed or withdrawn.
- Average waiting times remain long at roughly 72 weeks for asylum appeals and about 105 weeks for deportation‑related appeals, which is slowing removal processes and prolonging uncertainty for claimants.
- The statistics have fuelled a political fight: ministers argue structural reform or a new Independent Immigration Appeals Authority will speed decisions, while critics warn reforms could weaken legal scrutiny and simply shift or hide the backlog; small‑boat arrivals have fallen but do not reduce the existing court caseload.