SEVERAL asylum seekers were receiving support in Conwy while their claim was processed as the number of people waiting for an asylum decision hits record levels.
The figures come as a refugee charity calls for an asylum system founded on "compassion and competence".
While awaiting a decision asylum seekers are unable to work but can be entitled to financial assistance and accommodation through what is known as 'Section 95' support.
Claimants may also be eligible for Section 98 – which is given to those who appear destitute and are waiting to see if they are eligible for Section 95 – or Section 4, for after a claim is rejected.
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Figures from the Home Office shows six people were claiming Section 95 support in Conwy as of December – the same number as a year before.
The figures come as the UK's backlog in asylum applications topped 160,900, up 60 per cent from the 100,600 for the same period in 2021, and the highest figure since current records began in 2010.
The Refugee Council charity called the backlog "alarming", adding people fleeing persecution are being left "in limbo" while awaiting a decision.
"We need an asylum system that isn’t just about control, but is also about compassion and competence," its CEO, Enver Solomon, added.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to clear the 92,600 initial asylum claims in the system at the end of June 2022 by the end of 2023 – but the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford described the challenge as a “major headache” for the Government.
Senior researcher Dr Peter Walsh said other countries have “routinely received similar or higher numbers of claims” but processing the applications has been “particularly slow in the UK”.
The number of asylum seekers claiming Section 98 support – and therefore judged to be at risk of destitution – doubled from 24,200 to 49,500 last year.
However, nobody was receiving Section 98 support in Conwy as of December.
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