Joint report by Freedom from Torture and 7 other leading organisations calls for the overhaul of the "inhumane and inefficient" asylum system

A notable new report calling on the Government to overhaul the asylum and immigration system was published last week by Freedom from Torture, the Refugee Council and six other leading organisations.

The 36-page report is available here on the Freedom from Torture website.

The report begins: "The United Kingdom asylum determination system is both inhumane and inefficient. People who have suffered horrific events, often face further suffering once they come to the UK. Poor Home Office decision-making on asylum claims is endemic, with almost two in five asylum refusals corrected on appeal."

The report charts a 15-year history of longstanding criticisms levelled against the Home Office over the mishandling of asylum claims and poor decision-making. It draws on 50 other reports published since 2004 from 17 different organisations, including by parliamentary committees, the UN and NGOs.

Freedom from Torture and the 7 other organisations conclude that the asylum system urgently needs to be repaired, as it has at its heart the assumption that applicants are telling lies.

A three-point summary of the report's main findings states:

• "The Home Office fails to deliver fairly on its responsibilities towards people seeking protection, including those with particular vulnerabilities. This is a legal and a moral failure."
• "This failure has a human and an economic cost. Those who are living in limbo whilst waiting for a correct decision have to go through unnecessary, lengthy and often traumatic appeal processes. There is a significant financial cost to the government in preparing appeals, and the associated support and accommodation costs."
• "These failings cannot be addressed through ad hoc or purely procedural adjustments. They can and must be delivered by a systemic overhaul – or transformation of the current system."

Maurice Wren, Chief Executive of the Refugee Council, said: "The systemic mishandling of asylum claims in the UK, over many years, is a shameful scandal with devastating consequences. That those who have looked to Britain for protection from the violence, persecution, rape or torture they have endured, should be treated so unfairly and insensitively at the hands of the UK Home Office, is simply unacceptable. It must end.

"We are pleased to have contributed to this important report which exposes the deep seated and historic dysfunctionality of our asylum decision-making process. The case for root-and-branch reform is unanswerable and we urge the Home Office to act urgently."

Satbir Singh, Chief Executive of JCWI, said the "searing report" laid bare the suffering and injustice inflicted on the most vulnerable asylum seekers.

In its recommendations, the report calls for major changes: "As a matter of urgency, the government must recognise that an overhaul of the asylum and immigration system is required. This must include a commitment to an asylum system that has a culture of protection at the core, both internally and externally in political discourse."

Freedom from Torture and the 7 other organisations say the asylum system needs to be more humane and needs to better understand the individual asylum seekers at the heart of the process.

In response to the report, a Home Office spokesperson told the Guardian: "The UK has a proud record of providing protection to those fleeing persecution. In the 12 months to June we gave protection to over 18,500 people, the highest number since 2003.

"This report brings together information from reports that are up to 15 years old. The Home Office has made significant changes over this period and continues to work with Freedom from Torture and other organisations to improve the asylum system."