New figures have disclosed the number of asylum seekers residing in taxpayer-funded housing for periods exceeding 12 months has climbed to more than a whopping 37,000.
This marks a surge of 40 per cent in just the past 18 months, with an additional 10,000 individuals now occupying Home Office accommodation for extended durations.
The total population housed within the asylum system has now surpassed 107,000 people, leading to the swiping migrant crackdown in development by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.
The statistics reveal a concerning amount of migrants in long-term, taxpayer-funded residency, with three people entering year-long stays for every individual who exits shorter-term arrangements.
In a bid to crack down on migrants exploiting the system and preserve taxpayer resources, the Government earlier revealed plans to incentivise migrant asylum seeker families to leave the UK - issuing payments up to £40,000.
The move aims to reduce taxpayer costs, given that housing a family of three in asylum accommodation costs up to £158,000 per year.
The pilot scheme will target approximately 150 families living in taxpayer-funded asylum accommodation.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has accused the Government of failing to tackle the crisis, arguing the escalating figures demonstrate Labour lacks the "backbone to deport" those without legal status.
Asylum seekers making the journey across the Channel via small boat
| REUTERSHe warned that the current approach was worsening the situation at a local level.
Mr Philp said: "Labour are moving illegal immigrants from asylum hotels to long-term residential housing. This embeds the problem deeper into communities".
The Conservative frontbencher expressed particular concern about the dispersal system, claiming: "Dispersal accommodation allows illegal immigrants to disappear into your community".
Hotel accommodation continues to house more than 30,000 asylum seekers, a figure that has risen since Labour took office following their July 2024 election victory.
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The return rate for those arriving via small boats across the Channel stands at just six per cent during this period.
The effects of those claiming asylum for prolonged periods has rippled through communities - a prominent example being the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex.
The site has been used to house asylum seekers intermittently since 2020, having become the site of a wave of protests in the summer of last year as the community rallied against issues seemingly caused by long term migrant residents.
One former resident, Hadush Kebatu, was convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman in Epping, before mistakenly being set free.
The Bell Hotel in Epping is one of the most notorious centres housing asylum seekers for extended periods
| GETTYAfter a two-day police manhunt, he was arrested in the capital and forcibly deported to Ethiopia - not before being paid £500 to leave the country.
Shabana Mahmood's new measures on migration, unveiled on March 5, will take effect today as part of Labour's push to crackdown, imposing an emergency brake on visas from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan.
The move is intended to counter a surge in asylum claims from the four nations, with a staggering increase of 470 per cent recorded between 2021 and 2025.
Afghans have also seen the number of asylum claims on work visas surpass the number of visas issued.
As part of the changes, asylum claims have been reduced from "relative" to "close relative", with the Home Secretary legally able to disclose when an asylum claim has been made if in the public interest.
Successful asylum claims will only be kept on the protection route for 30 months, or five years if the claimant is an unaccompanied child under the age of 18.