UK asylum applications fall 21%, government figures show

UK asylum applications fell 21 percent year-on-year in the 12 months to the end of June, to 85,891 people, government figures showed Thursday.

The total was the lowest since the year to June 2022, according to interior ministry statistics. Migrants who crossed the English Channel in small boats accounted for 40 percent of the applications in the most recent period.

Small-boat arrivals fell 23 percent over the same timeframe. The ruling Labour Party said the decrease showed the success of its policy of trying to disrupt crossings “upstream” in Europe.

The asylum backlog also fell. The number of applicants waiting for a first decision dropped 56 percent in the year to June, to 40,168, the lowest since March 2019. The number of asylum seekers temporarily housed in UK hotels fell by half year-on-year to 16,021.

Labour, in power since July 2024, has pledged to end the use of hotels for asylum seekers by the end of this parliament, due in 2029.

Government spending on asylum, including direct cash support, accommodation, staffing and some border enforcement activity, fell 8 percent in 2025/26 to £4.36 billion, or $5.91 billion. It was the second consecutive annual fall.

Interior minister Shabana Mahmood said the data showed the government was “restoring control” over the borders and asylum system, while saying ministers were “not complacent”.

Separately, the Equality and Human Rights Commission said the government had scored its lowest ranking with its policies for migrants and asylum seekers. The regulator said ministers had taken “inconsistent action” and that policies were failing to uphold their rights in line with United Nations recommendations, citing gaps in social security provisions and failures to protect people from poverty and destitution.