The UK asylum appeals backlog has hit a new record high, with new figures revealing it is now more than seven times the level it was a decade ago.
Data released by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) shows 87,450 cases were awaiting resolution at the end of March, marking a 72 per cent increase from 50,976 just a year prior. The figure was 11,660 in the same period of 2016, when current records began.
Between January and March this year, 40 per cent of appeals were successful, a slight decrease from 43 per cent in the corresponding period last year. The average waiting time for an asylum appeal to be cleared has also surged to 67 weeks, up from 54 weeks at the start of last year.
This escalating crisis comes just a week after a group of MPs, tasked with scrutinising government spending, issued a stark warning that the asylum system was on the brink of collapse.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) claimed the Home Office has focused on short-term fixes and does not have a clear strategy.
The Refugee Council previously said many people face being “stuck” in hotels and other asylum accommodation while they wait for a decision on their case.
An asylum case can refer to one person or to a group of people – typically a main applicant and their family members.
Statistics published at the end of last year showed the backlog of asylum appeals was, for the first time, higher than the backlog of cases waiting for an initial decision on an application.
The latest government statistics, published by the Home Office in May, showed the backlog of people waiting for an initial decision on an asylum application in the UK had dropped sharply to its lowest level in more than six years.
Some 48,758 people were waiting for an initial decision on an asylum application at the end of March 2026.
Experts have said the backlog in appeals underlines the challenges the government faces as it aims to end the use of hotels for asylum seekers.
Labour pledged to stop using asylum hotels by the next election. This came to the fore last year with violent protests outside some sites.
The number of asylum seekers being housed temporarily in UK hotels has fallen to its lowest level since data was first reported in 2022, according to separate Home Office figures published last month.
There were 20,885 people staying in such accommodation while they were awaiting a decision on their asylum claims at the end of March, down 35 per cent year-on-year from 32,326. The total had climbed as high as 56,018 at the end of September 2023.
