The number of asylum seekers living in hotels within the West Midlands has fallen dramatically since the end of 2023. According to Home Office data, only 2,314 asylum seekers were residing in contingency accommodation in the region as of March 2026. This figure is less than half of the 5,652 recorded in December 2023.
This decline aligns with national patterns, where asylum seekers housed in hotels have reached their lowest recorded levels. Across the UK, 20,885 individuals were in hotel accommodation in March 2026, down from 34,486 in March 2024 and a peak of 56,018 in September 2023.
Concurrently, the UK’s net migration has significantly decreased, dropping to 171,000 in the year ending December 2025. This represents less than half the total from the previous year and marks the lowest net migration levels since 2012, excluding the pandemic period.
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Despite the reduction in inbound migration, the UK is seeing an increase in British nationals leaving the country. In the year to December, there was a net loss of 136,000 British residents abroad, up from 117,000 in 2024 and 80,000 in 2012, the last period with similarly low net migration figures.