Asylum hotel numbers halve as migration figures plunge

The number of asylum seekers housed in UK hotels has plunged by half in a year, with more than 16,000 people accommodated in June compared with over 32,000 a year earlier.

The figures also show falls in asylum claims, work visas, student arrivals and small boat crossings, giving ministers fresh evidence that migration is slowing.

Hotel use collapses as backlog shrinks

The number of asylum seekers waiting for an initial decision has fallen dramatically from a peak of 175,000 in June 2023 to around 40,000.

Ministers have pushed officials to speed up decisions, with the Starmer government setting a five-year target to end the use of asylum hotels. Some 86,000 people claimed asylum in the year to June 2026, down a fifth on the previous year, with around half already legally in Britain when they applied.

Returns rise as pressure on the system eases

Around 40,000 people with no legal basis to remain were removed in the year to June, an 8 per cent increase. About a third were failed asylum seekers, with officials saying that was the highest number for 16 years.

But pressure has not disappeared. The number of asylum claimants housed in Home Office-paid accommodation outside hotels rose from 65,000 at the end of 2024 to 69,000 in June.

Small boats remain the political flashpoint

Some 38,000 irregular arrivals were detected in the year to June, including 33,000 people crossing the Channel in small boats. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the government was making progress but warned there was still more to do.

Migration routes have also contracted sharply. Work visas fell 18 per cent year-on-year and 62 per cent from their December 2023 peak, while student arrivals dropped 11 per cent.

Tighter rules trigger fresh political clash

Family visas fell to 58,000, down 19 per cent, following tighter rules on bringing relatives to Britain. Statisticians said the fall was largely driven by restrictions affecting refugee families — a policy critics say can prevent genuine refugees from rebuilding their lives.

The Conservatives accused Labour of moving illegal migrants into other accommodation, while Reform UK said Britain was at “breaking point”. Ministers now face the next test: turning falling numbers into a migration system voters believe is genuinely under control.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3relr4xx27o