Government ‘hackathon’ to search for ways to use AI to cut asylum backlog

The search for a new approach comes as the Home Office struggles to fulfil a firm commitment made by Sunak to clear the asylum backlog of 92,000 legacy cases (which were lodged before immigration rules changed last July) before the end of December 2023. The rising backlog of asylum seekers waiting for a decision on their cases presents a huge problem both for the government and those people left waiting for clarity about their status. Last November the Refugee Council released figures showing that more than 40,000 had been waiting between one and three years for a decision on their claim.

The cost of accommodating a large proportion of people who are waiting for a decision in hotel rooms (around £6m a day) has become politically sensitive. Meanwhile, asylum seekers are frustrated at not being able to work or study while they are waiting for their claim to be processed.

Despite Sunak’s commitment, figures released this week show that in the past three months, only 10,000 claims have been processed, suggesting that the government is unlikely to meet its target of clearing the remaining 80,000 cases unless a radical new approach is taken.

Governments have used digital tools for decades to speed up decision-making, and immigration campaigners said they would welcome any innovation that made the processing of asylum cases faster. But asylum experts questioned whether using AI was the most logical approach to clearing the backlog, when a more straightforward solution might be to increase the number of asylum case workers. Although there has been a year-on-year increase, the head count fell from 1,333 in January to 1,281 in March. Low morale and high turnover have been a constant problem.

The immigration lawyer Colin Yeo said that 98% or more of Afghans, Eritreans, Sudanese and Syrians in the backlog would be eventually be recognised as refugees, and the fastest way to eliminate about a third of the backlog would be to accept their claims immediately.

“You don’t need some literally inhuman and untested AI gimmick to just get on with it and grant them status. All officials need to do is establish they are telling the truth about their nationality. This would save a huge amount of public money and let genuine refugees get on with their new lives here. Instead, ministers are wasting yet more time and resources on nonsense ideas that will go nowhere,” he said.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The government is taking action to clear the asylum backlog by doubling the number of asylum caseworkers to 2,500 and streamlining interviews and paperwork, but we need to do more. This is why we are working with data scientists from across government and the private sector to bring together the best and brightest minds to consider further innovative solutions to help clear the backlog.”