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Record 110,000 people claimed asylum in the UK in the past year
Bryony Gooch,Holly BancroftThursday 27 November 2025 10:25 GMTComments
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More than 36,000 asylum seekers were being housed in Home Office hotels in September, a rise of two per cent year-on-year despite a pledge by Labour to curb their use, new data shows.
Data published by the Home Office on Thursday showed there were 36,273 asylum seekers being housed temporarily in UK hotels by the end of September. Three months earlier, the figure was 32,041, demonstrating a 13 per cent rise since June. The latest figure is also up on the same point in September 2024, when there were 35,628 asylum seekers in hotels.
New data shows that the number of asylum seekers in hotels peaked at 56,018 at the end of September 2023 under the Conservatives but fell to a record low of 29,561 at the end of June 2024.
In the year up to September, 51,000 people arrived by irregular routes, such as small boats or lorries. 89 per cent of these were small boat arrivals, with around 46,000 people making the perilous journey across the Channel - up 53 per cent on the previous year.
There was also a record number of asylum claims in the past year, with 110,000 people claiming sanctuary. This is higher than the previous recorded peak of 103,000 in 2002.
The total number of people in receipt of asylum support from the government is also up two per cent year-on-year, with 111,651 individuals getting help at the end of September.
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