Asylum: Interviews
Home Office written question – answered on 23rd
July 2018.
Lord Hylton Crossbench
To ask Her Majesty's Government what safeguards
they plan to put in place to ensure that any poor interpreting and poor
interview practices do not adversely affect individual asylum claims.
Baroness
Williams of Trafford The Minister of State, Home Department
All asylum interviews are carried out by an
impartial interviewing officer.
All interpreters engaged by the Home Office must
demonstrate they have the required skills and qualifications. They are also
bound by a “Code of Conduct” to ensure minimum standards for interpreting and
behaviour. Home Office policy and guidance ensures that in the event of
interpreters or interviews falling short of those standards, it would not
adversely affect an individual’s asylum claim.
Interviewing Officers are encouraged to provide
feedback on the performance of interpreters, using specifically designed
monitoring forms. Interviews may also be monitored for training and security
purposes. Increased use of technologies, such as interviewing by video
conferencing facilities, are being trialled to increase efficiency and
transform the asylum process. Currently the majority of interviews are
conducted face to face.
We have recently introduced digital interviewing
capability across the asylum casework operational as part of the wider Home
Office digital transformation programme, which aims for the department to
become ‘digital by default’. We are aiming to digitally record all asylum
interviews and provide claimants and their legal representative with a digital
recording of their interview in addition to a written transcript. Claimants who
do not want their interview to be audio recorded and provide reasonable
explanation for this will be exempt from the recording requirement.
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