UK sees sharp drop in asylum seekers housed in hotels

The United Kingdom has witnessed a dramatic reduction in the use of hotels for housing asylum seekers, with numbers halving in just one year. Data released by the Home Office shows that in June 2025, over 32,000 individuals were residing in hotel rooms, a figure that dropped to just over 16,000 by June of this year.

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A little over two years into office and the asylum backlog is down, the number of asylum seekers in hotels is falling, illegal working arrests are at record levels, and deportations and returns are up markedly.

This significant decrease coincides with a broader trend of falling legal migration arrivals, a reduction in asylum claims, and fewer small boat arrivals to the UK. The Home Office has pointed to these figures as evidence that its migration control policies are yielding positive results, although it concedes that further action is required to curb small boat crossings.

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Small boats numbers are also now falling, but we are not complacent and there is more we must do.

Beyond hotel accommodations, the number of family members joining relatives already in the UK legally has also seen a similar decline. Asylum applications have fallen by a fifth, with approximately 86,000 people seeking asylum in the year to June. Notably, about half of these applications came from individuals already present in the UK through legal means, rather than arriving via small boats.

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Labour was 'moving illegal immigrants out of hotels and into flats in your building.'

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood highlighted the progress, stating that the asylum backlog is decreasing, hotel occupancy is falling, illegal working arrests are at record levels, and deportations and returns have increased markedly. She acknowledged that while small boat numbers are declining, the government remains vigilant and committed to further action. In contrast, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp criticized the current government's approach, suggesting a shift from hotels to flats and advocating for stricter measures, including deporting all illegal immigrants and leaving the European Court of Human Rights.

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The surest way to empty the accommodation is to make plain that nobody who crosses the Channel gets to stay.