The UK Statistics Authority wrote to Robert Jenrick MP about Asylum Backlog Statistics

4 July 2023 · Sir Robert Chote, UK Statistics Authority

The letter is dated 4 July 2023. The UK Statistics Authority published it as Response from Sir Robert Chote to Robert Jenrick MP – Asylum Backlog Statistics; it links to 2 official records. Below are 2 passages from the letter in the regulator's own words.

What the UK Statistics Authority wrote

“I very much welcome the clarification you made and your acknowledgment of the importance of accurate and appropriate use of evidence and statistics.”

“As you have acknowledged, it is important that published statistics and analysis are quoted accurately and are not misrepresented, to avoid the risk of misleading the public.”

From Sir Robert Chote, UK Statistics Authority, letter of 4 July 2023. Read the full letter.

The words the letter quotes

The letter quotes 1 passage from the public record:

“Today, a majority of the cases being considered for modern slavery are people who are coming into the country – for example, on small boats. We are seeing flagrant abuse, which is making it impossible for us to deal appropriately with the genuine victims, to the point that 71% of foreign national offenders in the detained estate, whom we are trying to remove from the country, are claiming to be modern slaves.” [2]”

Records the letter links to

• Illegal Migration Bill, Hansard, 20 March 2023
• Modern slavery referrals for people detained for return after arriving in the UK on small boats, Home Office

Related key figures

• Small boat arrivals (English Channel)
• Asylum claims in the UK

More on Robert Jenrick.

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