asylumstatsFollow the money
South East

Reading

Updated 30 Jun 2026 · Home Office
Matt Rodda
Matt RoddaLabour · Reading Central

2 MPs cover constituencies in or overlapping Reading.

523 people on asylum support in Reading

Rank 56 of 361 councils nationally. The rate of 28.46 per 10,000 puts Reading in the 89th percentile. That means this area carries more than most. White British projected to be a minority by approximately 2025. 8 of them receive subsistence only and are not in Home Office accommodation. 211 in contingency accommodation (hotels, not housing). Accommodation and support for 523 people at £107 per person per day is about £20.4M a year.

What asylum costs Reading

£11.8Mestimated hotel costs/year
£1.3Msubsistence payments/year
£628KLA dispersal grant/year

Estimates based on 523 people on asylum support in Reading(0.56% 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.

Reading: 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.

732
7825212610Mar 2014Dec 2025Peak Sept 2023Rwanda schemeAlbania dealBibby StockholmRwanda scrapped
Exact values
PeriodValue
Mar 20149
Jun 20149
Sept 20149
Dec 201410
Mar 201512
Jun 201514
Sept 201510
Dec 201510
Mar 201610
Jun 201610
Sept 20168
Dec 20169
Mar 20179
Jun 201711
Sept 201712
Dec 201710
Mar 20188
Jun 20188
Sept 201811
Dec 201817
Mar 201922
Jun 201921
Sept 201916
Dec 20199
Mar 202014
Jun 202023
Sept 202041
Dec 202043
Mar 202169
Jun 202185
Sept 2021103
Dec 2021154
Mar 2022181
Jun 2022173
Sept 2022181
Dec 2022499
Mar 2023501
Jun 2023651
Sept 2023782
Dec 2023724
Mar 2024619
Jun 2024586
Sept 2024651
Dec 2024704
Mar 2025661
Jun 2025622
Sept 2025685
Dec 2025732

Trend

+47Latest quarter change
+723Change across series
48Official data points

Local numbers

Accommodation split

Dispersal accommodation304
Initial accommodation0
Subsistence only8
Contingency accommodation211

Pathway breakdown

Supported asylum
523
Homes for Ukraine
465
Afghan programme
117
Resettlement cumulative
53

Other routes

Homes for Ukraine465
Afghan programme117
Resettlement cumulative53

Population context

All pathways total1,105
Share of local population0.6%

Ethnic composition projection

Reading: White British 53.5% (2021) to 26.4% (2051). White British minority by ~2025. 80% CI: 24.7, 30.4%.

Ethnic composition: Reading

018355370% of populationCensus 2021IllustrativeWhite British 19% in 2061White Other 16% in 2061Asian 29% in 2061Black 9% in 2061Mixed 16% in 2061Other 12% 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: Reading

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

2011
65%
9%
14%
9%
2021
53%
14%
18%
2031proj
44%
16%
21%
2041proj
35%
17%
24%
8%
9%
2051proj
26%
17%
27%
9%
12%
9%
2061proj
19%
16%
29%
9%
16%
12%
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 Reading ranges from32.4% to 39.4%by 2051. That is a 6.9pp 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 35.2% by 2051

Religion projection

Muslim 9.6% (2021) → 14.0% (2051). Christian 42.5% → 15.6%.

Religion: Reading

015304459%Census 2021Christian 16% in 2051No religion 54% in 2051Muslim 14% in 2051Hindu 10% in 20512021203120412051
ChristianNo religionMuslimHindu

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

Nativity

33.5% foreign-born (2021). Diversity: highly diverse (entropy 0.76). 81.1% main language English.

UK-born vs foreign-born: Reading

2538506375%Census 2021UK-born 30% in 2051Foreign-born 70% 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: 12.8% moved within UK, 2.2% arrived from abroad
other14.4% internal, 8.2% international
white other17.4% internal, 4.6% international
asian12.9% internal, 5% international
mixed13.6% internal, 1.5% international
black10.8% internal, 2.6% international
white british11.6% internal, 0.4% international

Why Reading is changing

-11.9pp
National trend
-6.4pp
Age structure
+1.2pp
Local migration
-6.7pp

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

Dominant driver: local migration. 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 Reading on UK Demographics →