The scale of the rise in asylum seekers entering Britain is revealed in government figures comparing asylum applications in 2023 and 2024.
The BBC reports that almost 42,000 asylum seekers are waiting for an appeal hearing after the Home Office rejected their initial claims, according to analysis of official figures.
It cites the Refugee Council as saying that the number is a five-fold increase in two years and the government risks simply moving the asylum crisis from one part of the system to another, with almost 40,000 migrants still housed in hotels. Statistics from the Ministry of Justice show that at the end of 2024 there were 41,987 asylum appeals in the court’s backlog, up from 7,173 at the start of 2023.
The Refugee Council’s analysis suggests the total number of asylum application appeals lodged last year was a 71% increase on 2023.
Refugee Council CEO Enver Solomon is quoted as saying: “Right-first-time decision-making will ensure refugees are given safety to go on to contribute to communities across the country and those who don’t have a right to stay in the UK are removed with dignity and respect,” he said.
The charity points out that those in the appeals backlog still require accommodation, and warns that, without improvements, the potential cost of hotels could be £1.5bn this year.
The BBC quotes a government spokesperson as saying: “The asylum system we inherited was not fit for purpose, which is why we are taking urgent action to restart asylum processing and clear the backlog of cases, which will save the taxpayer an estimated £4 billion over the next two years.”
[Image: Alisdare Hickson/Flickr]