The number of asylum seekers housed in hotel accommodation has fallen again, according to the latest migration figures from the Home Office.
At the end of June, there were just over 16,000 asylum seekers in hotels, a drop of 70% compared to the peak of 56,018 in September 2023 and down 50% over the last year.
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The latest migration figures also show that the number of asylum claims had fallen by a fifth in the year to June whilst the number of asylum decisions being made remains significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels.
As the figures all go up to the end of the June, they go up to the end of Keir Starmer’s time as prime minister, providing a final snapshot of the progress his government had made.
Under Starmer’s premiership, the backlog of asylum cases fell by a remarkable two-thirds, falling from 118,882 cases to 40,168.
There has also been a significant drop in the number of people waiting longer than a year for their claim to be processed (11,014 down from 27,998 a year earlier).
The new figures come in the same week that the Home Office revealed the cost of the asylum system had plummeted by nearly £1 billion.
This was in large part down to policies such as reducing the use of hotels, along with speeding up the processing system for asylum claims and increasing the number of deportations.
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Reacting to the latest migration figures, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “A little over two years into office and the asylum backlog is down, the number of asylum seekers in hotels is falling, illegal working arrests are at record levels, and deportations and returns are up markedly.
“Small boats numbers are also now falling, but we are not complacent, and there is more we must do.
“That is why I have boosted enforcement on the French beaches and overseas and introduced new legislation to tackle the pull factors that draw people here through unsafe and illegal routes.”