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North West

Preston

Updated 30 Jun 2026 · Home Office
Sir Mark Hendrick
Sir Mark HendrickLabour (Co-op) · Preston
407 people on asylum support in Preston

Rank 76 of 361 councils nationally. The rate of 24.74 per 10,000 puts Preston in the 87th percentile. That means this area carries more than most. White British projected to be a minority by approximately 2037. 11 of them receive subsistence only and are not in Home Office accommodation. Accommodation and support for 407 people at £107 per person per day is about £15.9M a year.

What asylum costs Preston

£9.2Mestimated hotel costs/year
£1.0Msubsistence payments/year
£488KLA dispersal grant/year

Estimates based on 407 people on asylum support in Preston(0.44% 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.

Preston: 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.

429
4312871440Mar 2014Dec 2025Peak Jun 2024Rwanda schemeAlbania dealBibby StockholmRwanda scrapped
Exact values
PeriodValue
Mar 20143
Jun 20144
Sept 20144
Dec 201445
Mar 2015100
Jun 2015131
Sept 2015141
Dec 2015139
Mar 2016142
Jun 2016144
Sept 2016139
Dec 2016176
Mar 2017178
Jun 2017159
Sept 2017179
Dec 2017183
Mar 2018199
Jun 2018216
Sept 2018228
Dec 2018218
Mar 2019225
Jun 2019219
Sept 2019208
Dec 2019204
Mar 2020196
Jun 2020212
Sept 2020217
Dec 2020205
Mar 2021203
Jun 2021201
Sept 2021203
Dec 2021208
Mar 2022228
Jun 2022240
Sept 2022226
Dec 2022222
Mar 2023226
Jun 2023363
Sept 2023374
Dec 2023402
Mar 2024407
Jun 2024431
Sept 2024425
Dec 2024424
Mar 2025394
Jun 2025429
Sept 2025409
Dec 2025429

Trend

+20Latest quarter change
+426Change across series
48Official data points

Local numbers

Accommodation split

Dispersal accommodation396
Initial accommodation0
Subsistence only11
Contingency accommodation0

Pathway breakdown

Supported asylum
407
Homes for Ukraine
183
Afghan programme
224
Resettlement cumulative
59

Other routes

Homes for Ukraine183
Afghan programme224
Resettlement cumulative59

Population context

All pathways total814
Share of local population0.49%

Ethnic composition projection

Preston: White British 66.1% (2021) to 35.6% (2051). White British minority by ~2037. 80% CI: 33.4, 39.9%.

Ethnic composition: Preston

020406181% of populationCensus 2021IllustrativeWhite British 26% in 2061White Other 10% in 2061Asian 39% in 2061Black 6% in 2061Mixed 10% in 2061Other 9% 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: Preston

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

2011
76%
16%
2021
66%
20%
2031proj
57%
25%
2041proj
46%
9%
31%
2051proj
36%
10%
36%
2061proj
26%
10%
39%
10%
9%
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 Preston ranges from39.7% to 50.5%by 2051. That is a 10.8pp 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 43.9% by 2051

Religion projection

Muslim 17.0% (2021) → 30.4% (2051). Christian 50.4% → 14.6%.

Religion: Preston

014284255%Census 2021Christian 15% in 2051No religion 50% in 2051Muslim 30% in 2051Hindu 4% in 20512021203120412051
ChristianNo religionMuslimHindu

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

Nativity

19.3% foreign-born (2021). Diversity: diverse (entropy 0.58). 87.6% main language English.

UK-born vs foreign-born: Preston

1432506886%Census 2021UK-born 48% in 2051Foreign-born 53% 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: Low foreign-born share with significant ethnic diversity suggests second/third-generation growth is the primary driver. Less sensitive to immigration policy changes.

Census 2021 mobility: 10.3% moved within UK, 1.6% arrived from abroad
black18.9% internal, 7.9% international
other19.1% internal, 7.1% international
white other13.4% internal, 3.6% international
mixed13.1% internal, 1.3% international
asian9.1% internal, 4.1% international
white british9.7% internal, 0.3% international

Why Preston is changing

-9.7pp
National trend
-6.4pp
Age structure
+0.3pp
Local migration
-3.7pp

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 Preston on UK Demographics →