Overview
- Data covering January–March 2026 show the First‑tier Tribunal caseload rose to about 151,767 cases with 87,450 asylum appeals awaiting resolution.
- Tribunal output has stayed below roughly 7,000 asylum decisions per quarter while the mean age of concluded asylum appeals rose to 67 weeks.
- Analysts estimate new entrants now face roughly three‑year waits because cleared Home Office legacy cases increased inputs without boosting judicial capacity.
- The asylum appeal grant rate sits at about 40%, which critics say highlights poor initial decision quality and the human toll of long waits for people barred from working.
- MPs on the Public Accounts Committee have accused ministers of shifting backlogs, and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has pledged to replace the lower asylum courts though no detailed plans or extra resourcing have been published.