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which had been outstanding for a substantial period. The Unit was staffed by 4 EOs and 2 HEOS, some of whom became permanent members of the Refugee Unit. The complement of the Unit as a
whole has been increased by 1 Principal and 2 EOS, and is to be
increased further in the near future. The Refugee Unit now has a
total staff of 45. In response to the influx of Tamil asylum seekers (2032 in 1985) a Tamil Unit has also been set up and consists of 1 HEO, 2 EOS and 1 CA.
Whether targets have yet been set for lengths of time taken to determine asylum applications (Rec 27 (ii), Reply p 25-6).
Although the Government accepted in principle that a target of 75% of initial applications decided within 6 months might be
reasonable, the current backlog of cases (5,780 outstanding at
the end of 1985) and the volatile nature of world events which
often result in a sudden surge in applications, continue to make it unrealistic to set such targets at the present time. There
has recently been a re-allocation of casework assigned to senior
officers within the Unit in an effort to distribute the work load
more evenly and to clear the older applications. Statistical
information is now kept in relation to the workload and backlog in each of the geographical sections within the Unit in order that staffing needs and pressures on particular sections may be
monitored.
To what extent times taken to notify asylum decisions have been reduced (Rec 28, Reply p 26).
applicants of
¿
The Government reply to the report stated that once the backlog cases awaiting notification had been cleared a target of a
maximum of 2 weeks to notify decisions would be the aim. This
has been achieved in most of the geographical sections within the unit, but again unexpected delays may occur periodically due to
pressures on resources in the event of a sudden influx of asylum
applications. However, notification of a decision to the applicant is a priority within the Unit.
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