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London

Lewisham

Updated 30 Jun 2026 · Home Office
Janet Daby
Janet DabyLabour · Lewisham East

3 MPs cover constituencies in or overlapping Lewisham.

210 people on asylum support in Lewisham

Rank 128 of 361 councils nationally. The rate of 6.98 per 10,000 puts Lewisham in the 53rd percentile. That means a moderate load compared to the national picture. 34 of them receive subsistence only and are not in Home Office accommodation. 81 in contingency accommodation (hotels, not housing). Accommodation and support for 210 people at £107 per person per day is about £8.2M a year.

What asylum costs Lewisham

£4.7Mestimated hotel costs/year
£537Ksubsistence payments/year
£252KLA dispersal grant/year

Estimates based on 210 people on asylum support in Lewisham(0.23% 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.

Lewisham: asylum numbers falling

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.

258
3602401200Mar 2014Dec 2025Peak Dec 2022Rwanda schemeAlbania dealBibby StockholmRwanda scrapped
Exact values
PeriodValue
Mar 2014123
Jun 2014123
Sept 2014112
Dec 2014115
Mar 2015101
Jun 201593
Sept 201584
Dec 201583
Mar 201691
Jun 201697
Sept 201699
Dec 201696
Mar 201795
Jun 201787
Sept 201782
Dec 201789
Mar 2018104
Jun 2018100
Sept 201892
Dec 201876
Mar 201978
Jun 201972
Sept 201970
Dec 201970
Mar 202065
Jun 202074
Sept 202083
Dec 202080
Mar 202182
Jun 202196
Sept 2021106
Dec 2021155
Mar 2022139
Jun 2022126
Sept 2022157
Dec 2022360
Mar 2023332
Jun 2023350
Sept 2023102
Dec 202380
Mar 2024112
Jun 2024243
Sept 2024247
Dec 2024257
Mar 2025238
Jun 2025233
Sept 2025283
Dec 2025258

Trend

-25Latest quarter change
+135Change across series
48Official data points

Local numbers

Accommodation split

Dispersal accommodation95
Initial accommodation0
Subsistence only34
Contingency accommodation81

Pathway breakdown

Supported asylum
210
Homes for Ukraine
974
Afghan programme
235
Resettlement cumulative
206

Other routes

Homes for Ukraine974
Afghan programme235
Resettlement cumulative206

Population context

All pathways total1,419
Share of local population0.47%

Ethnic composition projection

Lewisham: White British 37.2% (2021) to 24.5% (2051). 80% CI: 22.8, 27.9%.

Ethnic composition: Lewisham

012233546% of populationCensus 2021IllustrativeWhite British 21% in 2061White Other 11% in 2061Asian 8% in 2061Black 24% in 2061Mixed 16% in 2061Other 19% 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: Lewisham

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

2011
41%
12%
9%
32%
2021
37%
14%
9%
27%
8%
2031proj
33%
14%
9%
27%
10%
2041proj
28%
14%
9%
27%
12%
11%
2051proj
25%
13%
8%
26%
14%
15%
2061proj
21%
11%
24%
16%
19%
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 Lewisham ranges from24.6% to 27.6%by 2051. That is a 3pp 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 25.9% by 2051

Religion projection

Muslim 8.0% (2021) → 8.6% (2051). Christian 47.4% → 19.1%.

Religion: Lewisham

321385673%Census 2021Christian 19% in 2051No religion 68% in 2051Muslim 9% in 20512021203120412051
ChristianNo religionMuslim

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

Nativity

35.6% foreign-born (2021). Diversity: highly diverse (entropy 0.87). 83.8% main language English.

UK-born vs foreign-born: Lewisham

2337506377%Census 2021UK-born 28% in 2051Foreign-born 72% 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.

high immigration gateway: High foreign-born share means ethnic change is migration-driven. Future projections are sensitive to immigration policy.

Census 2021 mobility: 10.3% moved within UK, 1.1% arrived from abroad
white other14.8% internal, 2.2% international
mixed11.5% internal, 1.3% international
asian9.3% internal, 2.9% international
other10.1% internal, 2.1% international
white british11.4% internal, 0.5% international
black6.3% internal, 0.7% international

Why Lewisham is changing

-4.3pp
National trend
-6.4pp
Age structure
+3.1pp
Local migration
-1pp

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 Lewisham on UK Demographics →