asylumstatsFollow the money
South West

Cornwall

Updated 30 Jun 2026 · Home Office
Ben Maguire
Ben MaguireLiberal Democrats · North Cornwall

2 MPs cover constituencies in or overlapping Cornwall.

15 people on asylum support in Cornwall

Rank 291 of 361 councils nationally. The rate of 0.26 per 10,000 puts Cornwall in the 9th percentile. That means fewer than most areas. 1 of them receive subsistence only and are not in Home Office accommodation. Accommodation and support for 15 people at £107 per person per day is about £0.6M a year.

What asylum costs Cornwall

£339Kestimated hotel costs/year
£38Ksubsistence payments/year
£18KLA dispersal grant/year

Estimates based on 15 people on asylum support in Cornwall(0.02% of 93,293 nationally at 30 Jun 2026). Hotel costs pro-rated from £5.77M/day national spend in 2024/25 (House of Commons Library, CDP-2025-0184). Subsistence: £49.18/week per person.

Cornwall: asylum numbers still rising

Quarter-end stock series to Dec 2025. A rise or fall is a net change in the number of people on support at period end, not the number of new claims or distinct people moving through the caseload. Support stock also overlaps with, but is not identical to, the awaiting-decision backlog.

18
12684420Mar 2015Dec 2025Peak Dec 2022Albania dealBibby Stockholm
Exact values
PeriodValue
Mar 20151
Jun 20151
Sept 20151
Mar 20184
Jun 20184
Sept 20184
Dec 20185
Mar 20195
Jun 20195
Sept 20195
Dec 20195
Mar 20205
Jun 20205
Sept 20205
Dec 20205
Mar 20215
Sept 20221
Dec 2022126
Mar 2023116
Jun 20231
Sept 20235
Dec 202411
Mar 202515
Jun 202517
Sept 202517
Dec 202518

Trend

+1Latest quarter change
+17Change across series
26Official data points

Local numbers

Accommodation split

Dispersal accommodation14
Initial accommodation0
Subsistence only1
Contingency accommodation0

Pathway breakdown

Supported asylum
15
Homes for Ukraine
1,321
Afghan programme
195
Resettlement cumulative
71

Other routes

Homes for Ukraine1,321
Afghan programme195
Resettlement cumulative71

Population context

All pathways total1,531
Share of local population0.26%

Ethnic composition projection

Cornwall: White British 93.6% (2021) to 86.0% (2051). 80% CI: 85.5, 87.8%.

Ethnic composition: Cornwall

0255075100% of populationCensus 2021IllustrativeWhite British 82% in 2061White Other 5% in 2061Mixed 5% in 2061Other 8% in 206120112021203120412051
White BritishWhite OtherMixedOther 80% CI

Each line shows one ethnic group's share of the local population. The shaded band is the 80% confidence range. Values after 2051 are illustrative only.

Ethnic composition: Cornwall

Census 2011, Census 2021, then Hamilton-Perry projections to 2051. Percentages.

2011
96%
2021
94%
2031proj
92%
2041proj
89%
2051proj
86%
2061proj
82%
White BritishWhite OtherAsianBlackMixedOther
Model: Hamilton-Perry single-year CCRs, 1,000 Monte Carlo simulations, SNPP-constrained

Census 2011 to 2021 cohort change ratios. Shaded band = 80% confidence interval from stochastic perturbation. Not a forecast.

Scenario explorer

Under different assumptions, White British share in Cornwall ranges from78.9% to 87.1%by 2051. That is a 8.2pp spread.

Fertility
Low~108k/yr
Principal~315k/yr
High~476k/yr
ConstantRates stay at current levels
Half convergenceMove halfway to national avg
Full convergenceConverge to national avg
Migration
Central scenario: WBI 82.3% by 2051

Religion projection

Muslim 0.3% (2021) → 0.4% (2051). Christian 48.7% → 10.6%.

Religion: Cornwall

627497193%Census 2021Christian 11% in 2051No religion 88% in 20512021203120412051
ChristianNo religion

Religious affiliation projected from Census 2021 self-identification. Trends reflect demographic change in the existing population, not religious conversion.

Nativity

5.3% foreign-born (2021). Diversity: low diversity (entropy 0.18). 98.2% main language English.

UK-born vs foreign-born: Cornwall

0255075100%Census 2021UK-born 80% in 2051Foreign-born 21% in 20512021203120412051
UK-bornForeign-born

Share of the local population born outside the UK. Movement reflects both new arrivals and the UK-born children of existing residents reaching adulthood.

low immigration: Limited ethnic diversity. Projections primarily driven by national trends.

Census 2021 mobility: 9.7% moved within UK, 0.5% arrived from abroad
black22.4% internal, 4.7% international
asian15.6% internal, 4.9% international
white other13.6% internal, 3.3% international
mixed14.3% internal, 1.3% international
white british9.5% internal, 0.3% international
other8.5% internal, 1.3% international

Why Cornwall is changing

-2.1pp
National trend
-6.4pp
Age structure
-1.3pp
Local migration
+5.5pp

White British change 2011-2021. Cyan = decline. Amber = growth.

Dominant driver: national trend. Shift-share methodology following Franklin (2014).

Full demographic profileSchool pressure, housing demand, service demand scoring, economic profile, language projections, and more on UK Demographics.View Cornwall on UK Demographics →