Asylum and humanitarian support numbers revealed across Cheshire
The number of people in receipt of Home Office asylum support across the county fell this year
By Cheshire Live
New figures show how many people are being supported across Cheshire through asylum support and other humanitarian routes.
The data, reported by Cheshire Live, is based on Home Office regional and local authority figures for council areas including Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Warrington and Halton.
The figures include people receiving asylum support, as well as people supported through Homes for Ukraine and Afghan resettlement routes.
Those categories are different and should not be treated as one single asylum figure.
Across Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Warrington and Halton, the combined total across those three routes was 4,455 people.
That included 2,023 people receiving asylum support, 2,160 people under Homes for Ukraine and 272 people under Afghan resettlement.
Cheshire West and Chester had the highest overall number across the three routes, with 1,680 people.
That figure included 659 people receiving asylum support, 840 under Homes for Ukraine and 181 under Afghan resettlement.
The data listed Cheshire West and Chester at 0.45% of the local population, with 0 people in hotels.
Cheshire East had a total of 1,331 people across the same routes.
That included 385 people receiving asylum support, 883 under Homes for Ukraine and 63 under Afghan resettlement.
The data listed Cheshire East at 0.32% of the local population, with 60 people in contingency accommodation.
Warrington had a total of 747 people across the routes.
That included 375 people receiving asylum support, 344 under Homes for Ukraine and 28 under Afghan resettlement.
The data listed Warrington at 0.35% of the local population, with 126 people in contingency accommodation.
Halton had a total of 697 people across the three routes.
That included 604 people receiving asylum support, 93 under Homes for Ukraine and 0 under Afghan resettlement.
The data listed Halton at 0.53% of the local population, with 0 people in hotels.
On the supported asylum measure alone, Cheshire West and Chester had 659 people, Halton had 604, Cheshire East had 385 and Warrington had 375.
Halton had the highest local rate for supported asylum, at 45.92 people per 10,000 residents.
Cheshire West and Chester was listed at 17.73 per 10,000, Warrington at 17.41 per 10,000 and Cheshire East at 9.14 per 10,000.
Asylum seekers may receive Home Office support if they would otherwise be destitute while waiting for a decision on their application.
That support can include accommodation, financial help, or both, depending on individual circumstances.
Homes for Ukraine is a separate route for people who came to the UK after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Afghan resettlement is also separate from the asylum support system and relates to people brought to the UK through Afghan resettlement schemes.
For residents, the figures can be confusing because asylum seekers, refugees, visa holders and humanitarian routes are often discussed together, even though they are different legal categories.
An asylum seeker is someone waiting for a decision on a claim for protection.
A refugee is someone whose claim has been accepted and who has been granted protection.
The local figures should therefore be read as a snapshot of people receiving support through specific Home Office routes, not as a full count of everyone in Cheshire who was born overseas or has moved to the UK.
For local councils, asylum and humanitarian accommodation can raise practical questions around housing, community support, healthcare, education and local services.
The issue remains politically sensitive, but the underlying data is important because it shows how responsibility is spread across different parts of the country.
Readers who want to compare figures across council areas can view the official GOV.UK regional and local authority dataset here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/immigration-system-statistics-regional-and-local-authority-data
Anyone comparing areas should check the date of the data, whether hotel or contingency accommodation is included, and whether the figure refers only to supported asylum or to wider humanitarian routes.