Trend
+28 Latest quarter change
+347 Change across series
48 Official data points
Slough
Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
289 people housed on asylum support in Slough
Rank 107 of 361 councils nationally. The rate of 17.27 per 10,000 puts Slough in the 74th percentile. That means this area carries more than most. 166 in contingency accommodation (hotels, not housing). At roughly £150/person/day, that costs the taxpayer an estimated £16M per year for this area alone.
What asylum costs Slough
£5.7Mestimated hotel costs/year
£739Ksubsistence payments/year
£347KLA dispersal grant/year
Estimates based on 289 people on asylum support in Slough (0.27% of 107,003 nationally). Hotel costs pro-rated from £5.77M/day national spend (2024/25 average, NAO). Subsistence: £49.18/week per person. Nationally, the hotel bill alone costs £62 per taxpayer per year.
Slough: 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.
Local numbers
Accommodation split
Dispersal accommodation 103
Initial accommodation 0
Subsistence only 20
Contingency accommodation 166
Pathway breakdown
Other routes
Homes for Ukraine 173
Afghan programme 49
Resettlement cumulative 18
Population context
All pathways total 511
Share of local population 0.31%
Ethnic composition projection
Slough: WBI 24.0% (2021) → 5.3% (2051). 80% CI: 5.2–6.2%.
Ethnic composition: Slough
White British White Other Asian Black Mixed Other 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: Slough
Census 2011, Census 2021, then Hamilton-Perry projections to 2051. Percentages.
White British White Other Asian Black Mixed Other
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 Slough ranges from 13.1% to 15.5% by 2051. That is a 2.4pp spread.
Fertility
Low ~108k/yr
Principal ~315k/yr
High ~476k/yr
Constant Rates stay at current levels
Half convergence Move halfway to national avg
Full convergence Converge to national avg
Migration
Central scenario: WBI 14.1% by 2051
Religion projection
Muslim 31.1% (2021) → 48.8% (2051). Christian 33.8% → 12.3%.
Religion: Slough
Christian No religion Muslim Hindu Sikh
Religious affiliation projected from Census 2021 self-identification. Trends reflect demographic change in the existing population, not religious conversion.
Nativity
44% foreign-born (2021). Diversity: highly diverse (entropy 0.8). 72.7% main language English.
UK-born vs foreign-born: Slough
UK-born Foreign-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: 8% moved within UK, 1.4% arrived from abroad
white other 11.9% internal, 2% international
mixed 10.1% internal, 0.9% international
black 8.8% internal, 2% international
other 8% internal, 2.5% international
asian 7.8% internal, 1.6% international
white british 5.8% internal, 0.2% international
Why Slough is changing
-10.5ppWhite British change 2011–2021. Cyan = decline. Amber = growth.
Dominant driver: local migration. Shift-share methodology following Franklin (2014).
Full demographic profile
School pressure, housing demand, service demand scoring, economic profile, language projections, and more on UK Demographics.
View Slough on UK Demographics →
Economy & housing by ethnicity
Census 2021 employment, homeownership, and qualifications by ethnic group.
Employment rate
White British 64.9%
Mixed 67.9%
White Other 80.8%
Other 63.4%
Homeownership rate
White British 54.1%
Mixed 32.2%
White Other 26.8%
Other 47.8%
Degree+ qualification rate
White British 35.6%
Mixed 30.9%
White Other 30.4%
Other 36.5%
Source
Census 2021 RM018 (economic activity), RM134 (tenure), RM049 (qualifications) by ethnic group. Observed, not projected.
School ethnicity
DfE School Census 2024/25: 33,425 pupils. 9.8% White British. Schools are 14.2pp more diverse than the general population.
Pupil ethnicity
Asian 55.9%
Mixed 12.8%
White Other 10.1%
White British 9.8%
Black 7.1%
Other 4.4%
What this means
Schools are 14pp more diverse than the general population. Schools show the future.
90.2% Minority pupils now
92.9% Projected 2041
Demographic pipeline
10.3% Primary WBI
8.9% Secondary WBI
Stable demographic pipeline.
Fertility proxy (10-year school trend): WBI share in primary schools changing at -0.74pp/year. Gradual diversification in school-age population.
Source & validation
DfE School Census 2024/25. State-funded schools. Upper-tier LA level. Validated against Census 2021 ages 4-15: Census WBI 17.4% vs school 9.8% (-7.6pp gap).
Service demand impact
Projected impact of demographic change on local services.
non-English speakers
NHS and council services will need increased interpreter/translation provision.
foreign-born growth to 2051
High foreign-born population growth will drive additional housing demand, particularly in the private rented sector.
EAL growth
Significant additional EAL (English as Additional Language) support likely needed.
National benchmarks
Supported asylum count
289 National distribution.
Supported asylum rate
17.27 Per 10,000 residents.
Contingency accommodation
166 Hotel and contingency placements.
Regional peers
Top 6 in South East by supported asylum.