UK asylum system under severe pressure, cross-party MPs report says

Britain's asylum system is failing to cope under severe pressure, a cross-party committee of MPs reported on Friday. The public accounts committee described its findings as disturbing and said the government risked repeating past failures. Committee chair Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said control of the system had been all but lost and that efforts focused on short-term fixes.

Tracking and costs The report stated it was shocking and unacceptable that the Home Office could not keep track of all people whose asylum claims had failed. The Home Office told the committee it only knows the location of the vast majority of failed claimants.

In 2024-25 the department spent approximately £4.9 billion on asylum, of which £3.4 billion went to accommodation and support. The committee recommended a full review of all hotel contracts to assess whether current profit levels are reasonable.

Government response A Home Office spokesperson said the findings supported changes already under way. Officials noted that hotel use for asylum seekers had fallen, asylum claims had declined, and the number of decisions issued had risen. The number of people claiming asylum fell by 4 percent in 2025 while small-boat arrivals rose by 13 percent, according to Home Office figures released in February.

The backlog of undecided claims dropped to 64,426, the lowest level since 2020, and the number of asylum seekers in hotels fell 19 percent to 30,657.