SOME asylum seekers are waiting years for the Home Office to set a date to hear their claims, according to a leading Scots immigration lawyer.

Usman Aslam said the Home Office’s failure to meet its own targets for processing such claims – in particular its “five-day deadline” – had also highlighted a more serious issue over the delay in hearing cases.

He has again urged the department to allow those seeking asylum to present claims at their Glasgow office or post them to Liverpool instead of having to travel there in person.

Aslam was speaking to The National after UK Government figures showed almost 17,000 asylum seekers had been waiting more than six months for a decision – a 58% increase on the years before. Data also showed the total backlog of cases waiting for an initial decision had risen from 30,027 at the end of March to 31,887 at the end of June, of which half had been waiting for more than six months.

“People should be made aware of the wider, and more concerning picture,” he said. “A fresh claim for asylum can normally take between six to 12 months to be decided. However, those practising in this field will verify that this can often be years.

“Through the courts, McGlashan MacKay have had to challenge a case, successfully, where a failed asylum seeker had been waiting for around five years.

“The Home Office’s own guidance states that when an application for asylum support is made, and a fresh claim for asylum is made at the same time, a decision on the fresh claim should be made within five working days.

“The chilling question here is, why is it that it can take six months to however many years to make a decision normally, yet when someone who is destitute makes an application for asylum support, they can suddenly decide matters in five working days?

“What is the motivation for deciding it that quickly? Some of these cases are detailed and multifaceted so the idea that these can be decided in five days is somewhat harrowing.”

Aslam said another issue was the waiting period of around three months for an appointment to make a new asylum claim and, although that could be moved closer in an emergency, the guidance was unclear.

“I had a meeting with the Home Office in October last year and I raised these issues, including asking them to imminently review the requirement for failed asylum seekers to have to physically attend Liverpool to hand in a claim. I don’t see why it cannot be posted, or handed in here in Glasgow, a system they previously had.

“The entry clearance visa system currently is operating on a scanning process ... the Home Office can scan documents from department to department, so I don’t see why Glasgow cannot scan documents to Liverpool.”

A Home Office spokesperson said:  "The United Kingdom has a long and proud history of offering sanctuary to those who need our protection.

“We try to prioritise those cases where additional support is requested and processing in-person applications for those refused asylum centrally allows experienced caseworkers to provide a more effective service to those claimants.

“We aim to resolve all further submissions on asylum claims as quickly as possible. However, some cases are complex and it’s our duty to thoroughly investigate all claims.”