Number of asylum seekers housed in Wiltshire hotels announced

Home Office figures show that the number of asylum seekers in British hotels has fallen by 41 percent, from 50,500 in June 2023 to 29,600 by the same time this year.

Specifically, the government in Swindon housed 67 refugees in Swindon hotels – far fewer than the 382 people who stayed in similar accommodation in June 2023.

In the rest of Wiltshire, no hotels were used for this purpose, although 76 asylum seekers had been accommodated there a year earlier.

At the beginning of the summer, right-wing extremist demonstrators attacked hotels housing asylum seekers, leading to days of unrest that were met with counter-protests by anti-racism groups and swift prosecutions.

Imran Hussain, executive director for external relations at the Refugee Council, said: “Despite some progress in reducing hotel use, nearly 30,000 asylum seekers were still living in hotels at the end of June.”

“Hotels should under no circumstances be used as accommodation, as people in asylum hotels are isolated, struggle with their mental health and can be the target of right-wing extremist attacks.”

In total, 523 asylum seekers received some form of state support in Swindon in June – another significant drop from the figure of 805 in June 2023 – while in the rest of Wiltshire 58 people were supported (down from 102).

At the end of June, a total of 118,900 people in Great Britain were waiting for an initial decision on an asylum application. This is a 32 percent decrease from the 175,500 cases at the end of June 2023, but a slight increase from the 118,300 cases awaiting processing at the end of March.

These figures come against the backdrop of demands to allow asylum seekers to work while their applications are being processed.

Tim Naor Hilton, chief executive of Refugee Action, said: “The new government could improve people’s lives, strengthen social cohesion and give a huge boost to local economies by giving asylum seekers the right to work.”

A Home Office spokesman said: “The Home Secretary has taken immediate action to address the asylum backlog and improve the Government’s immigration and returns capacity. He has redeployed hundreds of staff to speed up the deportation of those who do not have the right to be here.”

“We have also recruited up to 100 new specialist officers to the National Crime Agency who, together with our new Border Security Command, will target, disrupt and dismantle criminal smuggling gangs.”