The National Audit Office (NAO) has said short-term planning in the asylum system has created new backlogs - with large numbers of people waiting years for a decision

Years of short-term asylum planning have created new backlogs - leading to inefficiencies, wasted taxpayers' cash and harmed people's lives, a watchdog has found.

The National Audit Office (NAO) has called on the Government to draw up a cross-department plan to finally get the system under control. In a report published today, the NAO found more than half of a sample of 5,000 cases lodged nearly three years ago have yet to receive an outcome.

Human rights groups have branded the findings "shocking". The finance watchdog's chief Gareth Davies said: “Our analysis shows that the efforts of successive governments to improve th

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