Reforms to the UK’s asylum system are likely to pile more pressure on councils struggling to support unaccompanied children, a new report has found.
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) think-tank urged the next Government not to ‘sideline’ asylum after 2025 as the Illegal Migration Act risks creating a ‘perma-backlog’.
Its latest report looking at the short-term future of the asylum system concluded: ‘The Government’s proposals are unlikely to succeed on their own terms and could further exacerbate the current crisis.’
The backlog of asylum cases waiting to be decided currently stands at more than 130,000, resulting in about £3.6bn of support costs every year.
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