Watchdog warns of ‘unintended consequences’ of Mahmood's radical plans for asylum system

Shabana Mahmood’s radical plans to overhaul the asylum system could face “unintended consequences”, such as increased homelessness among people seeking refuge and growing case backlogs, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has concluded.

- Rajeev Syal Home affairs editor

The head of the National Audit Office (NAO) warned that the home secretary’s policies, which are meant to accelerate case decisions and reduce appeals, will require “effective action on the bottlenecks” if they are to succeed.

A report by the independent body released today found that information such as how many asylum seekers do not claim benefits or how many rejected claimants have absconded remains unknown.

Auditors also found that “short-term, reactive measures” have shifted pressures within the asylum system over many years, creating new backlogs and leaving many claims unresolved for years.

More than half of people who applied for asylum almost three years ago are still waiting for an outcome, the report said.

The findings emerged weeks after Mahmood’s radical package of reforms modelled on Denmark’s tough immigration rules led to a backlash from Labour MPs and peers.

Anger was directed towards Mahmood and Keir Starmer over plans to allow the deportation of children alongside their parents and the quadrupling of the waiting period for refugees to get permanent residence in the UK from five to 20 years.