I am informed by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner that there are some 7,700 asylum applications awaiting final decision in that office. This figure refers to all applications received up to 6 February 2002. Of these nearly 3,400 have been scheduled for interview or have completed the interview process and are awaiting decision.
The Refugee Appeals Tribunal has informed me that the estimated number of appeals on hands at end January is 2,460. This figure refers to all appeals received up to 31 January 2002.
It is evident that the increase in processing capacity which has been put in place in both the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner, ORAC, and the Refugee Appeals Tribunal as part of the Government's asylum strategy is making a real impact on the backlog of cases and is helping to progressively reduce processing times. For example, since July 2001 cases scheduled, processed and completed have significantly exceeded intake; over 97% of pre-2001 cases outstanding on or received since 20 November 2000 have now been offered a substantive interview. Thus, from January 2002 the ORAC is focusing on applications submitted in 2001; at 31 December 2001, only some 4,400 applications were on hands for more than six months in the ORAC and the Refugee Appeals Tribunal and the majority of these are in the final stages of processing; in the ORAC, the number of interviews scheduled for 2001 was more than double the figure for 2000; and the Refugee Appeals Tribunal scheduled 170% more hearings in 2001 as compared with 2000.