New figures reveal the number of asylum seekers housed in Leeds and Wakefield hotels

It comes as the number of asylum seekers being housed temporarily in hotels across the UK has fallen to its lowest level for 18 months, according to new data.

There were 30,657 people staying in such accommodation while they were awaiting a decision on their asylum claims at the end of 2025.

That included 483 people in hotels in Leeds as of December 31, 2025, and 211 in Wakefield.

The figure in Leeds had grown by 11 from the 472 that were being housed in hotels from the end of the previous quarter.

The issue of people being housed in hotels rose to prominence last year with protests taking place across the country.

Labour has pledged to no longer be using asylum hotels by the end of this Parliament, which would be 2029, if not earlier.

Number of asylum seekers in hotels peaked in 2023

The number of asylum seekers in hotels peaked at 56,018 at the end of September 2023 under the then-Conservative government but dropped to a record low of 29,561 at the end of June 2024 just before the general election.

The latest data from the Home Office showed December levels were 15 per cent lower than the previous quarter at the end of September when there were 36,273 people in hotels.

The figures also show the number of people in so-called contingency accommodation other than hotels had fallen to its lowest level since the end of December 2022 .

There were 2,010 in this accommodation - which could include barracks - at the end of December 2025 .

Once support has been granted, people are moved to what is known as "dispersal accommodation", where they remain while waiting to hear if their application for asylum in the UK has been granted or refused.

The latest figures showed there were 68,538 people in this kind of longer-term temporary accommodation - typically privately managed houses, flats or rooms in properties of multiple occupancy - at the end of December.

This was up four per cent on the same point in 2024 when there were 65,707 people in this kind of accommodation.

Number of people applying for asylum falls to lowest in five years

Meanwhile, other Government data showed a fall in the number of people applying for asylum in the UK and that the asylum backlog had dropped to its lowest level in more than five years.

The Home Office figures show 100,625 people applied for asylum in the UK in 2025, which is down 4per cent from 104,764 in 2024, which was the highest for a calendar year since current records began in 2001.

There were 64,426 people waiting - as part of the so-called backlog - for an initial decision on an asylum application in the UK at the end of December 2025 .

This is the lowest figure since 60,548 at the end of September 2020.

A Home Office spokesperson said the latest statistics "show real progress as we restore order and control to our borders".

But they said that "too many hotels remain in use", adding: "That is why the Home Secretary is introducing sweeping reforms to tackle the pull factors drawing illegal migrants to Britain, and we are ramping up removals of those with no right to be here."

A total of 291,971 people applied for British citizenship last year, the highest number since comparable figures began in 2002.

There was a spike in applications in the last three months of 2025, coinciding with the Government announcing changes to policy including lengthening from five years to 20 the period a refugee has to wait before being able to claim permanent settlement.

Some 90,555 applications were made in October- December 2025 , up 44 per cent from 62,928 in the previous three months and the highest for any quarter on record.

The number of citizenship grants last year was 235,782, down 13 per cent from a record 269,806 in 2024.