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23/07/2012
MPs Worried About UKBA Backlog
A group of influential MPs have said that the UK Border Agency is facing a backlog of more than 275,000 failed migrants who need to be removed from the country.
This figure is a size equivalent to the population of Newcastle upon Tyne, the home affairs committee said.
Committee chairman, Labour MP Keith Vaz, said the agency appeared to have "acquired its own Bermuda Triangle".
For the first time in their tri-annual report on the agency, MPs collated all categories of cases not yet resolved.
The Home Office said the report raised "legitimate concerns" about issues it was aware of and was already tackling.
A Home Office spokesman said the MPs had also highlighted improvements it had made to tackle "the huge backlog of cases we inherited".
"Over 2,000 overstayers have recently been removed following targeted enforcement activity, foreign national offenders are being removed more quickly and we are performing well against visa processing targets," he said.
The committee said it would take the UKBA "years" to clear the backlog and it was concerned the agency might not have enough resources to do so.
"It's easy to get in, but near impossible to keep track of anyone, let alone get them out," Mr Vaz said.
(H/GK)
This figure is a size equivalent to the population of Newcastle upon Tyne, the home affairs committee said.
Committee chairman, Labour MP Keith Vaz, said the agency appeared to have "acquired its own Bermuda Triangle".
For the first time in their tri-annual report on the agency, MPs collated all categories of cases not yet resolved.
The Home Office said the report raised "legitimate concerns" about issues it was aware of and was already tackling.
A Home Office spokesman said the MPs had also highlighted improvements it had made to tackle "the huge backlog of cases we inherited".
"Over 2,000 overstayers have recently been removed following targeted enforcement activity, foreign national offenders are being removed more quickly and we are performing well against visa processing targets," he said.
The committee said it would take the UKBA "years" to clear the backlog and it was concerned the agency might not have enough resources to do so.
"It's easy to get in, but near impossible to keep track of anyone, let alone get them out," Mr Vaz said.
(H/GK)
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