asked Her Majesty's Government:

What progress they are making in reducing the backlog of older asylum applications; and how many cases have been outstanding for more than one year, broken down by annual groups. [HL4168]

In his Statement to Parliament on 19 July 2006, the Home Secretary advised that there were a large number of electronic and paper records within the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, now the Border and Immigration Agency (BIA), relating to unresolved asylum cases. He said that we would aim to clear them in five years or less, and it is accordingly our intention to complete consideration of all current legacy cases by July 2011.

The chief executive of the BIA wrote to the Home Affairs Committee on 19 February this year with an update on the legacy programme. As part of her update, Lin Homer highlighted the task of ensuring that the quality of our information and related data is improved to a level that will allow accurate reports to be made about the number and nature of these cases. She confirmed that progress updates will be provided once we are able to provide reports in which Parliament and the wider public can have confidence. A copy of the letter is in the House Library.