Getty ImagesA record 111,000 asylum applications were made to the UK during the year to June, but the government is processing cases faster, new Home Office figures show.
This is an increase of 14% from the previous year, and it is higher than the peak of 103,000 in 2002.
But officials are processing more cases than before the general election, meaning that over the long term there may be fewer people in the system needing housing support.
The latest data, which covers Labour’s first year in office, comes as the government faces growing pressure over immigration.
The figures also showed 71,000 cases were awaiting an initial decision, relating to 91,000 people.
That backlog is almost half the peak of 134,000 cases at the end of June 2023.
This means that there are 18,536 fewer people waiting for a decision today than there were in March.
The numbers of asylum seekers in hotels has risen slightly to 32,059 – a figure higher than when Labour came to power, but well below a peak of 56,000 in September 2023 under the Conservatives.
Labour has pledged to clear the backlog by 2029, pledging to cut Channel crossings and to open new government-run accommodation.
Ministers hope to end the use of hotels over the long term. However that depends on how quickly they can remove people who have no case to be in the UK.
Asylum seekers who cannot financially support themselves are placed in housing while their claims and appeals are considered.
In the year ending June 2025, the Home Office forcibly removed 9,100 people – up a quarter on the previous year.
More than half were foreign national offenders who were being deported at the end of sentences.
Meanwhile, the High Court on Tuesday ruled a hotel in Epping, Essex, should stop housing asylum seekers after a legal challenge by the local council.
Other councils across the country, including some run by Labour, are now considering legal action.
Government spending on asylum in the UK was down by 12%, the figures show.
The total stood at £4.76bn in the year ending March 2025, down from £5.38bn the previous year.
It covers Home Office costs related to asylum, including direct cash support and accommodation, but not costs relating to intercepting migrants crossing the Channel.
Specific costs for hotels were not published in the latest data, but Home Office figures released in July showed £2.1bn was spent on hotel accommodation – down from £3bn the previous year.
The data for the year to June 2025 also showed that:
- Small boat arrivals accounted for 88% of arrivals, at 43,000
- This was 38% higher than the previous year, but slightly lower than the peak in 2022 of 46,000 people
- More than half of those arriving came from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran, Sudan and Syria
- Afghans were the most common nationality, accounting for 15% of small boat arrivals (6,400)
- Since January 2018, three-quarters of small boat arrivals were men, while only 16% were children
- 5,011 children – those under the age of 18 – crossed by small boat to apply for asylum in the year to June
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said Labour has “strengthened Britain’s visa and immigration controls, cut asylum costs and sharply increased enforcement and returns”.
She blamed the “broken immigration and asylum system” and said the previous Conservative government had left it in “chaos”.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the government is “failing” and has lost control of our borders”.
Liberal Democrat spokesperson Lisa Smart MP said the asylum backlog has been “far too large for far too long”.
“The Conservatives trashed our immigration system and let numbers spiral. Now this Labour government is failing to get a grip on the crisis,” she said.
