Today, I am announcing significant reforms to our asylum system to restore order and control at the borders. The number of asylum seekers has reached unprecedented levels, with 400,000 applications in the past four years, over 100,000 people living in accommodation funded by taxpayers, and over half of refugees remaining on benefits for eight years after arrival. This situation is causing public concern about fairness and control. My predecessor wasted £700 million on a failed Rwanda plan which resulted in only four individuals being removed from the country. Since taking office, my department has reduced the backlog in decision-making by 18%, increased removals to nearly 50,000, and made progress with the Border Security Bill. However, further action is needed. The new asylum policy aims to reduce illegal arrivals and increase removals of those without a right to stay. It proposes making refugee status temporary for two and a half years instead of five years, unless it is impossible for refugees to return home. A quicker path to permanent settlement will be created through a work and study visa route for refugees who are willing to contribute economically. Benefits will be removed from able-bodied refugees not in work or education. Family reunion rights will be restricted except under exceptional circumstances. Asylum hotels will be emptied by the end of this Parliament, with large military sites considered as alternatives. To address pull factors, we will remove the 2015 legislation that created a duty to support asylum seekers and replace it with a legal power to do so instead. Those who receive financial support from family members or have assets but refuse to work will be required to contribute towards their accommodation costs. Removals of failed asylum seekers will resume, including families in safe countries like Albania where returns agreements exist. The Government will also explore return hubs for those unable to be returned home and impose visa penalties on non-compliant receiving countries such as Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Namibia. Reforming our own removal process, we will create a new appeals body with professional independent adjudicators and ensure early legal representation for claimants. Cases with low success rates will be fast-tracked to reduce backlog delays. To narrow expanded interpretations under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which have contributed to delays in removals, we will define families as parents and children only, set a public interest test favouring removal or refusal unless exceptional circumstances apply, and limit where article 8 claims can be heard.