New figures show how many asylum seekers are being housed in Swindon and Wiltshire hotels at the moment.

Home Office figures show that the number of asylum seekers in UK hotels has dropped by 41 per cent from 50,500 in June 2023 to 29,600 at the same point this year.

In Swindon specifically, the government accommodated 67 refugees in Swindon hotels - which is far fewer than the 382 staying in similar accommodations in June 2023.

No hotels in the rest of Wiltshire were being used for this purpose, though 76 asylum seekers were being housed in them a year earlier. 

Earlier this summer, far-right protestors targeted hotels housing asylum seekers riding days of riots which were met with counter-protests by anti-racism groups and swift criminal prosecutions.

Imran Hussain, executive director of external affairs at the Refugee Council, said: "Despite some progress on reducing the use of hotels, there were still nearly 30,000 people seeking asylum living in hotels at the end of June.

"Hotels should never be used as accommodation as people in asylum hotels are isolated, struggle with their mental health, and may be targeted by far-right attacks."

In total, 523 asylum seekers were receiving a form of government support in Swindon as of June - another significant drop from June 2023's figure of 805 - while 58 were being supported in the rest of Wiltshire (down from 102).

In total, 118,900 people were waiting for an initial decision on an asylum application in the UK at the end of June - down 32 per cent from 175,500 at the end of June 2023, but up slightly from the 118,300 waiting to be dealt with at the end of March.

The figures come amid calls to allow asylum seekers to work while their applications are being processed.

Tim Naor Hilton, chief executive of Refugee Action said: "The new government could improve people’s lives, increase community cohesion and give a huge boost to local economies by giving people seeking asylum the right to work."

A Home Office spokesperson said: "The Home Secretary has taken immediate action to clear the asylum backlog and enhance the government’s immigration enforcement and returns capability, redeploying hundreds of staff to increase the removal of those with no right to be here.

"We have also recruited up to 100 new specialist officers at the National Crime Agency who will work alongside our new Border Security Command to target, disrupt and dismantle criminal smuggling gangs."