UK VISAS & IMMIGRATION ASYLUM CASEWORK DIRECTORATE ASYLUM DEVELOPMENTS AND TRAINING IN THE UK

Transcription

1 UK VISAS & IMMIGRATION ASYLUM CASEWORK DIRECTORATE ASYLUM DEVELOPMENTS AND TRAINING IN THE UK ANNA DOWNING JUNE 2014

2 Asylum trends in the UK The UK has a proud history of granting asylum to those who need it 2

3 Asylum trends in the UK The 1,101 rise was driven by increased claims from: Eritrea (+802) Syria (+559) Albania (+474) Partly driven by global events (i.e. Syrian crisis) Rising number of delayed claims following detection in immigration or police enforcement operations. Largest number of asylum applications: Pakistan (3,285) Iran (2,233) Sri Lanka (1,813) Syria (1,722) 3

4 Asylum trends in the UK Asylum intake forecast to rise by 6% to c.25, 600 claims in UK committed to resolving these quickly, while improving decision making quality. Increased intake = increased pressure on casework processing times. We are engaged in large scale recruitment to counter the effect of staff losses on productivity and output. Delivering approximately: 160 newly trained decision-makers 90 Administrative Officers We have now recruited staff up to the levels that we held in

5 Asylum trends in the UK 5

6 Syrian Crisis The UK Government launched the Vulnerable Persons Relocation (VPR) scheme to provide sanctuary in the UK for displaced Syrians who are most at risk. VPR gives particular priority to helping survivors of torture and violence, women & children at risk & those in need of medical care. VPR runs in parallel with the UNHCR s own Syria Humanitarian Admission Programme (HAP). Home Office is working closely with UNHCR to identify the most vulnerable people displaced by the conflict. VPR will support several hundred people over the next three years. 6

7 Syrian Crisis 7

8 Contingency planning 8

9 Training response 9

10 Training response New Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB) refresher training responding to recent media scrutiny. Incorporating stakeholder views from: UK Lesbian & Gay Immigration Group + Stonewall Training is ongoing and since May, 160 decision makers have been trained. We are developing credibility assessment training in response to a report produced by UNHCR (CREDO) and in conjunction with Amnesty international, Freedom from Torture, Helen Bamber Foundation and Asylum Aid. Training to be rolled out July/August 2014 and will incorporate a training module designed by the Employability forum using real refugee experiences. 10

11 Training response 11

12 Training response The increase in decision maker numbers has led to an increase in demand for further specialist training for them including training on how to handle applications from minors and trafficking victims. This year, the asylum L&D team has also developed brand new asylum support training (tutor led + e-learning), asylum support compliance training, e-learning for the Commonwealth Games IT system, e-learning for biometric identity, e-learning for Handling Asylum Claims from UK Visa Applicants, and consolidation training. Aside from EASO work the asylum trainers have also been involved in the Intergovernmental Consultations on Migration, Asylum and Refugees in Geneva and Multidisciplinary Training on credibility assessment in Budapest. 12

13 Training response EASO work: March to October 2013 Development of Management module with a specific section on dealing with vicarious trauma July 2013 delivered training to backlog committees as part of the EASO Asylum Intervention Project in Greece with the aim of increasing the efficiency of decisions October 2013 delivered Interviewing Vulnerable Persons module in Malta October 2013 Updated International Refugee Law & Human Rights module December 2013 began development of new Gender / LGB module 13

14 Training response February 2013 As part of Serbia s EU accession, the UK joined a Serbia twinning project to work with the Serbian Government in developing its immigration and border controls to an EU standard. As part of that project one trainer visited Belgrade to review Serbia s asylum system and report on whether it is compliant with EU directives. The project is ongoing. October 2013 Provided asylum overview training to Gibraltar asylum department. September 2013 Hosted visit in Solihull from Georgian asylum department as part of Prague Process project 14

15 Thank you Any questions? Please contact me if you require any further information: Anna Downing