Background and Statistics

Data on the populations of asylum seekers and refugees in the UK has long been recognised as being difficult and unreliable. In part this is due to the UK's lack of exit controls to count people out as well as into the country, and in part because there has been little or no sustained tracking of asylum seekers once they have been granted status.  

In 2004 Jobcentre Plus established a voluntary marker for refugees on its system.  The aim was to establish how many refugees were claiming mainstream benefits and what areas they lived, for use in developing support that would improve their employment outcomes.

Statistics  

Please click on the graph for a breakdown of statistics.

The graph above is based on statistics released by the Home Office and by the UK Border Agency and show the numbers of asylum applications granted status, shown here as a blue line  The statistics above for refugees do not include dependents.  Since 2005 the number of grants of status for asylum applications, either initially or following appeal, has remained relatively steady at approximately 10,000 per year. 

A significant addition to this population since 2007 has been the number of grants of status given to asylum seekers through the case resolution programme, shown as a red line on the graph.  Although Case Resolution clients are, in the main, not granted status as refugees, they share the same characteristics.  These are often compounded by the sheer length of time spent outside mainstream support waiting for a final decision on their asylum application.  More information on Case Resolution is available here.

Refugees often come from professional backgrounds.  Teachers, for example, have been targeted in Zimbabwe as MDC supporters and many have fled the country.  The voluntary sector has developed specific initiatives to help, amongst others, doctors, nurses, teachers and accountants back into their professions here in the UK.  A crucial component of these initiatives is establishing how many of each profession are looking to take up return to those sectors in the UK.