Home Secretary Theresa May is pledging a reform of the UK’s asylum laws. The Northern Echo looks at the current system and what the new approach will involve.

Q: How many asylum seekers come to Britain?

A: The most recent figures show there were 25,771 claims from main applicants in the year ending June 2015, an increase of ten per cent compared with the previous year. However, data submitted to the EU's data agency showed that the number of people claiming asylum in the UK - including dependants - reached its highest monthly level for more than six years in July.

Q: Who can claim asylum in the UK?

A: To be recognised as a refugee an individual must be unable to go back to their own country safely because they fear persecution. This can be because of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a social group that puts the person at risk, such as sexual orientation. Family members including a partner or children under 18 can be included in an application.

Q: What happens next?

A: An applicant is either detained or granted temporary release while they go through different stages, including a "screening" meeting to register their claim and a formal interview.

Q: Are they given any money?

A: Yes they can obtain accommodation and a £36-a-week allowance from the moment they claim asylum.

Q: How long does it take before a decision is given?

A: The Government states that applications are usually decided within six months but the process may take longer if it is "complicated".

Q: What decisions can the authorities take?

A: Applicants and any dependants can be given permission to stay as refugees in the UK for five years if they are found to qualify for asylum, after which they can apply to settle in the UK. Others can be allowed to stay for humanitarian reasons for their own protection if they don't qualify for asylum. Those who are not granted asylum are asked to leave the country, although they can often appeal.

Q: Do failed asylum seekers continue receiving money from the Government after the decision?

A: Yes. In August the Home Office disclosed that Britain is spending more than £70 million a year to support those who remain in the country illegally.

Q: What changes does Mrs May want to make?

A: Elements of her vision include: strengthened "safe return reviews", which will mean refugees could be deported if their home countries become safe by the time their temporary leave to remain in Britain ends; giving those who have travelled through safe countries a "minimum stay of protection"; taking "retaliatory measures" against countries which refuse to accept people facing deportation from the UK by denying their nationality; ending the "absurdity" of EU nationals claiming asylum in the UK and international discussions to look at the legal definitions of asylum and refugee statuses, which were first established more than six decades ago. The first ever annual asylum strategy will also be published next year, along with a register of people and organisations able to accommodate refugees.

Q: How has the Conservative Party arrived at his point?

A: In the run-up to the 2010 General Election, the Conservatives repeatedly blamed Labour for a series of immigration failures, saying the current system was failing. It pledged to get net migration – the balance between the number of immigrants arriving minus the number of leaving – down to tens of thousands. However it failed to hit its targets and in fact net migration has increased. Nonetheless it has continued to come up with measures in order to make illegal entry into the UK harder. This has in turn has led to renewed criticism that it is attempting to pander to the “nastier” side of the party, partly in a bid to ward off defectors to UKIP. Prime Minister David Cameron also recently faced criticism for his "too little to late" response to the refugee crisis in Syria and eventually responded by stating that the UK would take in 20,000 people from refugee camps bordering the country.