§ Earl Russellasked Her Majesty's Government:
How the Administrative Court of the Queen's Bench Division will accelerate decision-making on Immigration Appeals, particularly bearing in mind the current workload. [HL2714]
39WA
§ The Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor (Lord Falconer of Thoroton)Clause 14 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Bill will streamline the asylum and immigration appeals process, creating a single tier of appeal with limited access to the higher courts. We expect that under the new system appeals will take a maximum of 15 weeks to complete. This includes consideration by the Administrative Court.
To relieve pressure on the Administrative Court in the scheme's early stages, a filter mechanism will operate for a transitional period whereby applications under Section 103A will initially be reviewed by a senior member of the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal. We expect the filter mechanism to add approximately two weeks to processing times.