The U.K. Home Office Thursday released new data that shows the country received its highest number of annual asylum applications in two decades.
According to the release, 78,768 asylum applications were lodged in the U.K. in the year ending June 2023 — marking a 19 percent increase on the previous year.
“This is higher than at the time of the European migration crisis (36,546 in the U.K. in year ending June 2016) and is the highest number of applications for 2 decades,” the Home Office release noted.
Highest number since 2002
The last time U.K. asylum claims were this high was 2002, when 84,130 applications were made in a single year.
The rise in applications comes amid intense political focus on Britain’s asylum system.
‘Stop the boats’
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has vowed to “stop the boats” crossing the English Channel, and the Home Office is grappling with a growing backlog of unprocessed asylum applications.
Sunak has also pledged to reduce the number of asylum seekers living in hotels while decisions on their claims are awaited, a policy which currently costs the government £2.3 billion a year. But the latest numbers show this figure continues to grow.
In March 2023, 47,518 people were housed in hotels. By June, this figure had risen to 50,546.
Refugee status in U.K
Within the overall asylum claims, the Home Office figures also show an 89 percent year-on-year increase in the numbers of people seeking refuge in the U.K. citing persecution for their sexuality or gender identity.
