asylumstatsFollow the money
West Midlands

Sandwell

Updated 30 Jun 2026 · Home Office
1,467 people on asylum support in Sandwell

Rank 7 of 361 councils nationally. The rate of 41.57 per 10,000 puts Sandwell in the 97th percentile. That means this area carries more asylum seekers per head than 90% of the country. White British projected to be a minority by approximately 2023. 34 of them receive subsistence only and are not in Home Office accommodation. 115 in contingency accommodation (hotels, not housing). Accommodation and support for 1,467 people at £107 per person per day is about £57.3M a year.

What asylum costs Sandwell

£33.1Mestimated hotel costs/year
£3.8Msubsistence payments/year
£1.8MLA dispersal grant/year

Estimates based on 1,467 people on asylum support in Sandwell(1.57% 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.

Sandwell: 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.

1,595
1,6791,1195600Mar 2014Dec 2025Peak Sept 2025Rwanda schemeAlbania dealBibby StockholmRwanda scrapped
Exact values
PeriodValue
Mar 2014495
Jun 2014593
Sept 2014640
Dec 2014673
Mar 2015698
Jun 2015695
Sept 2015764
Dec 2015802
Mar 2016831
Jun 2016856
Sept 2016867
Dec 2016880
Mar 2017929
Jun 2017918
Sept 2017939
Dec 2017928
Mar 20181,016
Jun 20181,036
Sept 2018994
Dec 2018989
Mar 20191,021
Jun 2019980
Sept 2019942
Dec 2019962
Mar 2020980
Jun 2020999
Sept 20201,029
Dec 20201,042
Mar 20211,006
Jun 2021984
Sept 2021984
Dec 20211,022
Mar 20221,024
Jun 20221,059
Sept 20221,056
Dec 20221,145
Mar 20231,121
Jun 20231,410
Sept 20231,554
Dec 20231,437
Mar 20241,555
Jun 20241,416
Sept 20241,631
Dec 20241,646
Mar 20251,678
Jun 20251,671
Sept 20251,679
Dec 20251,595

Trend

-84Latest quarter change
+1,100Change across series
48Official data points

Local numbers

Accommodation split

Dispersal accommodation1,318
Initial accommodation0
Subsistence only34
Contingency accommodation115

Pathway breakdown

Supported asylum
1,467
Homes for Ukraine
235
Afghan programme
134
Resettlement cumulative
6

Other routes

Homes for Ukraine235
Afghan programme134
Resettlement cumulative6

Population context

All pathways total1,836
Share of local population0.52%

Ethnic composition projection

Sandwell: White British 52.1% (2021) to 17.8% (2051). White British minority by ~2023. 80% CI: 16.8, 19.8%.

Ethnic composition: Sandwell

018355371% of populationCensus 2021IllustrativeWhite British 11% in 2061White Other 5% in 2061Asian 39% in 2061Black 18% in 2061Mixed 10% in 2061Other 16% 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: Sandwell

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

2011
66%
19%
8%
2021
52%
26%
9%
2031proj
39%
32%
11%
2041proj
27%
37%
13%
10%
2051proj
18%
39%
16%
8%
13%
2061proj
11%
39%
18%
10%
16%
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 Sandwell ranges from33.3% to 37.7%by 2051. That is a 4.4pp 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 35.1% by 2051

Religion projection

Muslim 14.2% (2021) → 33.0% (2051). Christian 42.2% → 8.5%.

Religion: Sandwell

012243547%Census 2021Christian 9% in 2051No religion 40% in 2051Muslim 33% in 2051Hindu 3% in 2051Sikh 15% in 20512021203120412051
ChristianNo religionMuslimHinduSikh

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

Nativity

23.6% foreign-born (2021). Diversity: highly diverse (entropy 0.74). 83.6% main language English.

UK-born vs foreign-born: Sandwell

1934506681%Census 2021UK-born 41% in 2051Foreign-born 59% 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.

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

Census 2021 mobility: 6.4% moved within UK, 0.8% arrived from abroad
white other11.1% internal, 2.2% international
other8.9% internal, 1.9% international
black8.5% internal, 1.5% international
mixed9.3% internal, 0.4% international
asian6.3% internal, 1.5% international
white british5.2% internal, 0.1% international

Why Sandwell is changing

-13.8pp
National trend
-6.4pp
Age structure
+1.1pp
Local migration
-8.5pp

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 Sandwell on UK Demographics →