Britain’s Migration Challenge: Rising Asylum Numbers and Hotel Pressures

Published: 23 August ‘2025. The English Chronicle Desk. A report for the English Chronicle Online.

The number of asylum seekers temporarily housed in government hotels has risen during the first year of the Labour administration, adding pressure on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to address the growing migration challenges posed by dangerous Channel crossings. The latest Home Office figures reveal that asylum claims reached a record 111,000 in the year to June, coinciding with a surge in small boat arrivals.

This announcement follows a High Court decision on Tuesday that banned the use of the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, for asylum accommodation after legal representatives argued that repeated violent protests outside the site had created a “feeding ground for unrest.” Local authorities in other parts of the country are also preparing legal action to prevent similar situations in their areas.

While the number of asylum seekers housed in hotels rose by eight per cent year-on-year to 32,059, the figure remains well below the peak of over 56,000 recorded in September 2023 under the previous Conservative government. Since last December, the numbers in temporary hotel accommodation have been steadily decreasing, reflecting a gradual easing from the earlier high levels.

Labour has made progress in reducing the backlog of asylum claims and accelerating deportations, with enforced returns increasing by 25 per cent to 9,072 during the year to June. The government has also targeted the deportation of criminal migrants. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper emphasised that these measures have strengthened Britain’s immigration controls, cut asylum costs, and increased enforcement efficiency.

Despite these improvements, the overall picture remains challenging. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp criticised ministers for “more immigrants in hotels than at the time of the election,” while Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said public frustration over the issue is justified. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch raised questions about the feasibility of establishing dedicated migrant camps to reduce community disruption.

The rising hotel numbers are accompanied by a record 111,084 asylum claims in the year to June, the highest on record since 2001. Small boat migrants accounted for nearly 39 per cent of these claims, while thousands more arrived via legal visas for work or study. Notably, around 6,700 individuals claimed asylum after entering the UK as students, and 5,900 through work-related visas. The majority of applicants hailed from Pakistan (10.1 per cent), followed by Afghanistan and Iran.

Deportations have also seen targeted nationalities, including Albania, Romania, Brazil, and India, with France emerging as the principal destination, receiving 8,403 individuals in the past year. The UK and France’s new “one-in, one-out” agreement permits limited returns of migrants crossing the Channel, currently averaging around 50 people per week, though no returns have yet been carried out under this arrangement.

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, reiterated concerns about the continued reliance on hotels, describing them as costly, disruptive to communities, and a source of prolonged uncertainty for asylum seekers.

As the government seeks to phase out hotel accommodation by the end of this parliamentary term, officials emphasize that the broader aim is to balance humane treatment of asylum seekers with the management of migration pressures, amid growing scrutiny of Labour’s handling of the situation.