4 September 2026 · Figures in the text were correct on this date; the charts below are drawn live and will move as new periods are published.
Decisions have outpaced new claims since 2023, taking the backlog from 160,919 cases at the end of 2022 to 40,168 by June 2026.
The number of asylum cases awaiting an initial decision peaked at 160,919 at the end of 2022. By the year ending June 2026 it had fallen to 40,168 — about a quarter of the peak, and below where it stood in 2020 (64,895).
The arithmetic behind the fall is visible in the two flow series: in the year ending June 2026 the Home Office made 115,872 initial decisions against 85,891 new claims. When decisions exceed claims, the backlog shrinks; the gap between those two lines is the drain rate.
A smaller backlog is not the same as a generous or a strict system — it says nothing by itself about grant rates or about what happens after an initial decision, including appeals. The asylum funnel shows the stages side by side, and each chart below links to its full series with source and caveats.
Published valueProvisional or revisedLatestOne point a year is drawn; the source publishes overlapping year-ending figures, and every one is in the history table and CSVShaded bands: governments (see labels)Hover or use arrow keys to read a value
Source: Home Office, Immigration system statistics: asylum summary tables.
Published valueProvisional or revisedLatestOne point a year is drawn; the source publishes overlapping year-ending figures, and every one is in the history table and CSVShaded bands: governments (see labels)Hover or use arrow keys to read a value
Source: Home Office, Immigration system statistics: asylum summary tables.
Published valueProvisional or revisedLatestOne point a year is drawn; the source publishes overlapping year-ending figures, and every one is in the history table and CSVShaded bands: governments (see labels)Hover or use arrow keys to read a value
Source: Home Office, Immigration system statistics: asylum summary tables.
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