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REFUGEE ACTION RESPONSE TO TODAY'S CONTROL OF IMMIGRATION STATISTICS

Thursday August 26th 2010

In response to the Control of Immigration Statistics 2009 and Quarter 2 2010, released by the Home Office today, Dave Garratt, acting Chief Executive of Refugee Action, said:

"We are concerned that the latest figures show that one in four initial asylum refusals is later found to be wrong at appeal. For certain nationalities, such as for people from Somalia, this figure rises to 1 in 2. We are particularly concerned that this comes at a time when the government is planning to make cuts to legal aid for asylum appeals.

"The review of legal aid, coupled with the latest fall in asylum applications, is an opportunity for the government to push forward with its commitment to getting decisions right first time. Providing asylum seekers with good quality legal advice as early as possible will help to achieve this. In turn, this would significantly reduce the number of cases which go to appeal and thereby represents a clear opportunity to make significant savings."

ENDS

If you have any media enquires please contact Julia Ravenscroft, Press Officer at Refugee Action, on 0161 831 5454 or 07771 748 159.

Notes to editors:

Refugee Action is an independent, national charity working to enable refugees to build new lives in the UK. We provide practical advice and assistance for newly arrived asylum seekers and long-term commitment to their settlement through community development work, and received 30,000 visits from asylum seekers last year. As one of the country’s leading agencies in the field, Refugee Action has 28 years’ experience in pioneering innovative work in partnership with refugees.