Record number of asylum seekers receiving Government support in Ashfield

The British Red Cross called on the Government to create more safe routes to prevent people ‘making perilous journeys’ to reach the UK.

Home Office figures show 74 asylum seekers in Ashfield were receiving some form of financial support from the government in the final quarter of 2024 – up from 60 at the end of September.

It was also the highest figure since local records began in 2022.

Of those seeking support, 71 were receiving Section 95 support where they were at risk of becoming destitute while waiting on a decision from the Home Office.

Across the UK, 112,187 asylum seekers were receiving support at the end of December.

This was up three per cent on 109,024 at the end of September.

Of them, 38,079 were being housed temporarily in hotels – the second quarterly rise in a row.

Asylum seekers and their families are housed in temporary accommodation if they are waiting for the outcome of a claim or an appeal and are not able to support themselves independently.

They are housed in hotels if there is not enough space in the accommodation provided by local authorities or other organisations.

The rise comes as the Government plans to close nine more asylum hotels by the end of March, saying it was making progress on reducing the backlog.

The figures also show some 108,138 people applied for asylum in the UK last year – the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.

Marley Morris, from the Institute for Public Policy Research think tank, said: "If the Home Office wants to end the use of hotels, it will need to double down on efforts to improve the speed and quality of decision-making.

"Applications should be triaged early and decisions for high-grant nationalities should be streamlined."

There were 124,802 people waiting for an initial decision on an asylum application at the end of December – down six per cent from 133,409 at the end of September.

Mubeen Bhutta, director of policy, research and advocacy for the British Red Cross, said: "Behind these numbers are real men, women and children who have been forced to flee their homes.

"Too many are making perilous journeys to find safety, because they have no other option."

She added the Government must create more safe routes to prevent people taking dangerous journeys to reach the UK.

She continued: "Without them, efforts to protect vulnerable people are unlikely to be effective.”

A No 10 spokesman said the Government has set up a Border Security Command, increased return figures and produced plans for a ‘world-first’ smuggling sanctions regime.

But the shadow home secretary Chris Philp MP (Con) said that with ‘no deterrent’ the increase in numbers is‘no surprise’.

He added: "Despite the Government promising to end hotel usage for asylum seekers, the numbers have gone up again and they are costing Britons dear."