The number of asylum seekers housed in UK hotels rose 8% to 32,059 by the end of June, up from 29,585 a year earlier but below the September 2023 peak of 56,042. The asylum applications backlog has fallen below 100,000 for the first time in four years, now at just over 70,000 cases relating to almost 91,000 people, an 18% reduction year on year. In the year to June 2025 the Home Office forcibly removed 9,100 people, a 25% increase, with more than half being foreign national offenders. A high court ruling over applicants in Essex has prompted legal challenges and pressure to find alternative accommodation to hotels.
The data also shows that the government is processing asylum applications much quicker, with 71,000 cases awaiting approval, relating to 91,000 people, compared with 134,000 two years ago. The figures come amid growing clamour from councils to block hotels being used to house asylum seekers through legal action, after a court ruled that more than 100 applicants staying in Essex should be removed.
The latest Home Office figures, published on Thursday as part of the usual quarterly immigration statistics, cover Labour's first year in office. There were 32,059 asylum seekers in UK hotels by the end of June, up from 29,585 at the same point a year earlier, when the Conservatives were still in power but down slightly on the 32,345 figure at the end of March.
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