Parliamentary answer highlights lack of data on foreign-national offender appeals backlog

In a written answer published on **22 October**, Justice Minister Sarah Sackman admitted that the Ministry of Justice does not hold central data on how many appeals by foreign national offenders are pending before the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) or on the average time to determination. The response came to a named-day question from Conservative MP Blake Stephenson, who cited constituency cases where removals were stalled for more than a year while appeals languished. The disclosure underscores a wider transparency gap in the UK’s immigration litigation system. Without accurate metrics, it is difficult for the Home Office to forecast detention capacity or for employers to assess the reputational risk of hiring individuals whose criminal appeals are unresolved. Legal groups say the absence of data also hampers efforts to triage tribunal resources and to design the **Digital Case System 2.0**, which aims to move immigration appeals fully online by 2028. For businesses, prolonged appeals delay the finality of deportation orders; staff formerly cleared to work may suddenly lose the right to remain if an appeal fails, triggering last-minute workforce gaps. Employers should strengthen right-to-work re-check calendars and consider contractual clauses that allow redeployment if an employee’s status changes. Mobility teams posting assignees overseas on temporary licences should monitor appeal outcomes to avoid inadvertent breaches of sponsor-duty reporting deadlines.