Number of asylum seekers in hotels halves in a year
The number of asylum seekers housed in UK hotels has halved over the past year, dropping from 32,000 to 16,000. Government officials attribute this decline to stricter migration policies and faster processing of asylum claims.
Why it matters
This reflects a significant shift in UK immigration management and the effectiveness of the current government's strategy to reduce public spending on temporary housing.
Image source, SNSM By Dominic Casciani Home and Legal Correspondent Published 27 August 2026, 12:16 BST Updated 7 minutes ago There has been a significant fall in the use of hotels to house asylum seekers waiting for a Home Office decision, data shows.
In June 2025 there were more than 32,000 people in hotel rooms, but by June this year it had halved to more than 16,000.
There has also been a drop in legal migration arrivals, asylum claims and small boat arrivals to the UK compared to a year ago.
The Home Office said the figures showed that policies to control migration are having an effect - but said there was still more to do on the issue of small boat crossings.
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