'Remember these are human beings': This is what the highly-politicised UK migration stats really mean

The asylum backlog is falling and small boat crossings decreased by a fifth in the year to September 2024, but more 130,000 people remain stuck in limbo and more cases are being refused, new government migration statistics show today.

A total of 99,790 people claimed asylum in the UK in that period, a figure which has more than doubled since 2021, while twice as many decisions on asylum claims were made than a year before. 

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It comes as figures on net migration to the UK dominate headlines. Nigel Farage said a ballooning spend on asylum stood in comparison to tax-and-spend raids on pensioners and farmers, adding: “But what does it matter, they’re British. They’re at the back of the queue.” The Tories have admitted they “made mistakes”, with shadow home secretary Chris Philp saying total immigration is still “far too high”. But Big Issue has dug deeper to find the context behind a highly-politicised set of statistics.

The proportion of asylum seekers granted leave to remain fell from 75% to 52%, something the government attributes to a “higher standard of proof” needed when cases are assessed under the Nationality and Borders Act. Depending on where somebody has come from, however, there is a huge variation in how likely they are to get a positive decision. Claims from Syrian and Sudanese asylum seekers were accepted at a rate of 99%, compared to 4% for Albanians and 3% for Indians.

Despite the Afghan Resettlement Scheme providing a bespoke, legal route for those fleeing the Taliban, Afghans – along with Vietnamese – were the most common nationality entering the country on small boats. In total, 29,851 people entered the UK via small boat, down 21% in a year, while 28% of people claiming asylum in the UK arrived by small boat.

The fact Afghans were top of the list pointed to a failure in the government’s official channels, said Natasha Tsangarides, associate director of advocacy at Freedom from Torture.

“That really shows how inadequate the Afghan resettlement schemes are, and really that people feel there is no alternative to get here,” said Tsangarides.

“When we look at the [migration] statistics, just remember these are human beings, many of who have experienced torture,” Tsangarides added.

“Typically they go through horrendous experiences in their home countries and then have an awful journey to the uk in the hope of seeking protection.”

People made crossings via small boats because they felt they had no alternative, said Dr Wanda Wyporska, CEO of Safe Passage International, a charity which helps unaccompanied child refugees reach safety.

“This is a very dangerous route to take, and people are taking it because they’ve got no other choice,” said Wyporska.

“If they’ve got a smuggler saying ‘I can get you over next week’, they’re not interested in us actually being able to take their case, because they’re desperate to get to their families. They’ve been through enough, they’ve fled war and persecution.”

The number of health and care worker visas granted by the government declined 65% in a single year.

“If this downward trend in Health and Care visas is to continue, there is the serious question of how the adult social care sector will cope when recent recruitment has been reliant on visa workers, with one in three carers being foreign nationals,” said Dr Dora-Olivia Vicol, CEO of the Work Rights Centre.

The migration figures came as the government announced it will revoke licenses to hire foreign workers from firms who break employment rules. Violations include failing to pay minimum wage or breaking visa rules, and Labour says the change will particularly help workers in the health and social care sector.

But Vicol added her organisation had found evidence that 177 companies who broke employment laws still held licenses to employ foreign workers. “We welcome this government’s move to penalise employers who abuse workers, but this announcement is the bare minimum,” said Vicol.

“In this announcement, the government is making a dangerous conflation between illegal work and labour exploitation. None of the workers impacted by this announcement are working illegally.”

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