A SCOTTISH MP has said the fact that nearly 63,000 people are facing delays to review of their visa appeals reviewed is confirmation that the UK Government’s “pull up the drawbridge” approach to immigration “is not fit for purpose”.

Alison Thewliss made her comment after a written answer – released after Parliament broke for recess – revealed that 62,903 immigration reviews were outstanding at the end of September.

Earlier this month, she cited three cases in her Glasgow Central constituency in a Commons exchange with ministers, and pointed out that the backlog in tribunals was leading to “dire straits” for some of her constituents.

Cases from the MP’s postbag, surgeries and inbox included one constituent who has been waiting for a hearing date since March 2016. As he is unable to work until his case is heard, he is now facing eviction from his home, along with his wife and children.

Other constituency cases included a man who has been waiting since November 2015 for an appeal regarding an entry visa for his wife.

Yet another involved a constituent who has been waiting since February 2015 for an appeal which had been promised by last May.

Thewliss said: “Since my election almost 20 months ago, my team and I have dealt with over 5,000 constituency cases. Due to the diverse nature of Glasgow Central, a lot of my casework involves asylum and immigration policy.

“Over the last year and a half, it has become ever more clear that UK immigration policy is not fit for purpose. These shocking figures demonstrate that this government’s pull up the drawbridge approach to immigration is leaving increasing numbers of my constituents in dire straits.

“A family in my constituency faces the very genuine prospect of being made homeless because of these unacceptable delays to tier one tribunals. Others are being separated from loved ones for extended periods.

She added:”With an average of 5,000 appeals being lodged every month, it is quite clear that access to justice is being blocked by UK Government inaction. A cynic would perhaps suggest that it is convenient for the government to leave people waiting for months and years in the hope that they simply give up. “That is no way to run a justice system and I’ll be seeking proper answers and action from the Ministry of Justice when Parliament returns next month.”

In a written question to Justice Secretary Elizabeth Truss, Thewliss had asked how many first-tier immigration tribunals were lodged in each month since October 2015 and the numbers outstanding for each month.

Her question was answered by Dr Phillip Lee, an under-secretary at the Ministry of Justice, who said: “We do everything we can to avoid unnecessary delay in the Immigration and Asylum Tribunal, and have provided an additional 4,950 tribunal sitting days for this financial year to ensure current caseloads do not increase.

“We are keeping performance under close review and are confident there is sufficient capacity to deal with the number of appeals we expect to receive.”

The figures showed an average of 5,000 appeals were lodged each month and the number of outstanding appeals reached a peak in June, when 64,821 cases were unresolved.

Over the past year The National has been at the forefront of the battle for an immigration policy that is more suited to Scotland’s needs than the UK Government’s “one-size-fits-all” strategy.

Days ago, we told how American couple Russell and Ellen Felber, who arrived in Scotland almost six years ago and have invested almost £400,000 turning their guest house in Inverness into an award-winning establishment, had their notice to quit from the Home Office delivered with a batch of Christmas cards.