Migrant hotel use soars despite Labour pledge to scrap them
The number of asylum seekers housed in hotels has increased by more than 8,000 since the election despite Labour's pledge to end their use, Home Office figures have revealed.
Some 38,079 migrants were being housed in asylum hotels at the end of December last year, up from 29,585 in June 2024, an increase of nearly 29 per cent in six months.
The data also showed that a record 108,138 people applied for asylum in the UK last year, the highest number for any 12-month period since records began in 2001.
It is up 18 per cent from 91,811 in 2023 and reflects increasing numbers of people from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Vietnam who have overstayed their visas claiming asylum. Small boat arrivals accounted for only 32 per cent of asylum claims.
The surge in asylum seekers in hotels follows an admission from Sir Matthew Rycroft, the Home Office's top civil servant, that hotels are set to continue to be used to house them for up to the next four years.
It contrasts with a declared pre-election ambition by Labour to ' end the use of hotels for asylum seekers within 12 months' of recruiting 1,000 caseworkers to tackle the backlog of applications.
The party's manifesto did not set a similar timescale and simply stated that a Labour government would 'end asylum hotels, saving the taxpayer billions of pounds'. Since coming to power, Labour ministers have acknowledged that it 'will take time' and pledged their 'intention' to end asylum hotels 'as soon as possible'.
The number of hotels reached a peak of 400 under the Tories in autumn 2023 housing some 56,000 asylum seekers at a cost of £3 billion to the taxpayer. It had fallen to 213 by the time of the election last July but had risen to 220 by last October housing some 35,000. The number housed had risen by a further 3,000 to 38,079 by Dec 31.
Last month, Dame Angela Eagle, the border security minister, admitted there had been a net rise of six hotels but nine were scheduled to close by the end of March.
Labour has ramped up efforts to clear the backlog with a five-fold increase in the number of asylum applications being processed since the election to more than 10,000 a month.
However, this has been tempered by the arrival of more than 25,000 migrants who have been intercepted crossing the Channel since Sir Keir Starmer became Prime Minister.
Asylum applications hit their highest point on record, crossing 100,000 for the first time since 2002, and beating the previous record of 103,081 in the 12 months to December 2002.
Pakistanis claiming asylum rose 79 per cent in the latest year to 10,542, accounting for one in 10 of all applications, while claims from Vietnamese nationals more than doubled to 5,259
They were followed by Afghans (8,508), Iranians (8,099), Bangladeshi (7,225) and Syrians (7,225). Some 5,312 Indians applied – despite a success rate in applications of less than one per cent.
Some 39,616 people were granted refugee protection or other leave to remain in the UK, 37 per cent fewer than in 2023.
Fewer than half (47 per cent) of asylum claims were granted last year, down from 67 per cent in 2023, reflecting the higher standard of proof required by the Tories' Nationality and Borders Act 2022.
The backlog of asylum claims fell from 128,786 to 124,802. This is down from 160,919 in 2022 – but still higher than 51,228 in 2019.
Some 36,816 people arrived in the UK on small boats last year, 25 per cent more than in 2023 (29,437).
Afghans remained the biggest nationality with 5,919 arrivals in 2024. There was, however, a noticeable spike of Yemenis from 91 to 1280 and Vietnamese from 1,306 to 3,602.
Enforced returns of foreign criminals and illegal migrants increased by 28 per cent year-on-year to 8,164 in 2024. However, this remains significantly below the high of 21,425 in 2004.
The number of people coming to the UK to work, study or join family fell by 460,000. Work visas fell by 37 per cent to 210,000 while visas for study were down by 14 per cent to 393,000. Some 417,157 people were granted an extension to stay in the UK on their work or graduate visas, nearly seven times the number in 2019.
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