asylumstatsFollow the money
Yorkshire and The Humber

Leeds

Updated 30 Jun 2026 · Home Office
Alex Sobel
Alex SobelLabour (Co-op) · Leeds Central and Headingley

7 MPs cover constituencies in or overlapping Leeds.

1,365 people on asylum support in Leeds

Rank 8 of 361 councils nationally. The rate of 16.24 per 10,000 puts Leeds in the 73rd percentile. That means this area carries more than most. White British projected to be a minority by approximately 2046. 50 of them receive subsistence only and are not in Home Office accommodation. 209 in contingency accommodation (hotels, not housing). Accommodation and support for 1,365 people at £107 per person per day is about £53.3M a year.

What asylum costs Leeds

£30.8Mestimated hotel costs/year
£3.5Msubsistence payments/year
£1.6MLA dispersal grant/year

Estimates based on 1,365 people on asylum support in Leeds(1.46% 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.

Leeds: 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.

1,772
1,7721,1815910Mar 2014Dec 2025Peak Dec 2025Rwanda schemeAlbania dealBibby StockholmRwanda scrapped
Exact values
PeriodValue
Mar 2014449
Jun 2014472
Sept 2014522
Dec 2014543
Mar 2015537
Jun 2015501
Sept 2015517
Dec 2015588
Mar 2016626
Jun 2016668
Sept 2016671
Dec 2016684
Mar 2017709
Jun 2017720
Sept 2017744
Dec 2017769
Mar 2018902
Jun 2018911
Sept 2018867
Dec 2018891
Mar 2019912
Jun 2019936
Sept 2019942
Dec 2019926
Mar 2020936
Jun 2020970
Sept 20201,012
Dec 2020958
Mar 2021926
Jun 20211,094
Sept 20211,030
Dec 20211,143
Mar 20221,130
Jun 20221,228
Sept 20221,243
Dec 20221,206
Mar 20231,515
Jun 20231,500
Sept 20231,650
Dec 20231,451
Mar 20241,598
Jun 20241,654
Sept 20241,701
Dec 20241,686
Mar 20251,659
Jun 20251,659
Sept 20251,715
Dec 20251,772

Trend

+57Latest quarter change
+1,323Change across series
48Official data points

Local numbers

Accommodation split

Dispersal accommodation1,106
Initial accommodation0
Subsistence only50
Contingency accommodation209

Pathway breakdown

Supported asylum
1,365
Homes for Ukraine
1,157
Afghan programme
685
Resettlement cumulative
406

Other routes

Homes for Ukraine1,157
Afghan programme685
Resettlement cumulative406

Population context

All pathways total3,207
Share of local population0.38%

Ethnic composition projection

Leeds: White British 73.4% (2021) to 45.1% (2051). White British minority by ~2046. 80% CI: 42.3, 49.5%.

Ethnic composition: Leeds

022436586% of populationCensus 2021IllustrativeWhite British 35% in 2061White Other 8% in 2061Asian 14% in 2061Black 22% in 2061Mixed 10% in 2061Other 11% in 206120112021203120412051
White BritishWhite OtherAsianBlackMixedOther 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: Leeds

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

2011
81%
2021
73%
10%
2031proj
65%
11%
8%
2041proj
56%
13%
12%
2051proj
45%
8%
14%
17%
8%
2061proj
35%
8%
14%
22%
10%
11%
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 Leeds ranges from57.4% to 61.0%by 2051. That is a 3.7pp 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 59.0% by 2051

Religion projection

Muslim 8.3% (2021) → 14.0% (2051). Christian 44.9% → 11.3%.

Religion: Leeds

322405876%Census 2021Christian 11% in 2051No religion 71% in 2051Muslim 14% in 20512021203120412051
ChristianNo religionMuslim

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

Nativity

15.8% foreign-born (2021). Diversity: diverse (entropy 0.55). 90.9% main language English.

UK-born vs foreign-born: Leeds

1130507089%Census 2021UK-born 54% in 2051Foreign-born 47% 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.

emerging diversity: Limited ethnic diversity. Projections primarily driven by national trends.

Census 2021 mobility: 11.3% moved within UK, 1.2% arrived from abroad
white other15.2% internal, 3.8% international
other12.9% internal, 4.9% international
mixed15.3% internal, 1.3% international
black11.9% internal, 2.6% international
asian9.3% internal, 4.5% international
white british11% internal, 0.3% international

Why Leeds is changing

-7.8pp
National trend
-6.4pp
Age structure
-0.1pp
Local migration
-1.3pp

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 Leeds on UK Demographics →