Record number of asylum seekers in Milton Keynes living in hotels

The data shows that there were 245 asylum seekers who were temporarily housed in hotels in the city at the end of December 2024.

It is a significant increase on the 34 at the end of September last year, and the highest figure since local records began in 2022.

Across the UK, 38,079 asylum seekers were being temporarily housed in hotels at the end of last year.

This is still some way below the peak figure, which was 56,042 at the end of September 2023.

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

The Government recently announced it was aiming to close nine more asylum hotels by the end of March, in a bid to reduce the backlog.

Last year 108,138 people applied for asylum in the UK, the highest number in any 12-month period since current records began back in 2001.

Mubeen Bhutta, director of policy, research and advocacy for the British Red Cross, said: "Behind today's 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."

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