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South East

West Berkshire

Updated 30 Jun 2026 · Home Office
Olivia Bailey
Olivia BaileyLabour · Reading West and Mid Berkshire
43 people on asylum support in West Berkshire

Rank 236 of 361 councils nationally. The rate of 2.6 per 10,000 puts West Berkshire in the 30th percentile. That means a moderate load compared to the national picture. 4 of them receive subsistence only and are not in Home Office accommodation. Accommodation and support for 43 people at £107 per person per day is about £1.7M a year.

What asylum costs West Berkshire

£971Kestimated hotel costs/year
£110Ksubsistence payments/year
£52KLA dispersal grant/year

Estimates based on 43 people on asylum support in West Berkshire(0.05% 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.

West Berkshire: 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.

37
193129640Dec 2021Dec 2025Peak Jun 2023Rwanda schemeAlbania dealBibby StockholmRwanda scrapped
Exact values
PeriodValue
Dec 202123
Mar 202221
Jun 20228
Sept 202217
Dec 2022177
Mar 2023177
Jun 2023193
Sept 2023185
Dec 202327
Mar 202447
Jun 202436
Sept 202440
Dec 202439
Mar 202540
Jun 202539
Sept 202530
Dec 202537

Trend

+7Latest quarter change
+14Change across series
17Official data points

Local numbers

Accommodation split

Dispersal accommodation39
Initial accommodation0
Subsistence only4
Contingency accommodation0

Pathway breakdown

Supported asylum
43
Homes for Ukraine
668
Afghan programme
106
Resettlement cumulative
39

Other routes

Homes for Ukraine668
Afghan programme106
Resettlement cumulative39

Population context

All pathways total817
Share of local population0.49%

Ethnic composition projection

West Berkshire: White British 85.6% (2021) to 68.9% (2051). 80% CI: 68.8, 72.7%.

Ethnic composition: West Berkshire

024487295% of populationCensus 2021IllustrativeWhite British 61% in 2061White Other 11% in 2061Asian 9% in 2061Mixed 12% in 2061Other 5% in 206120112021203120412051
White BritishWhite OtherAsianMixedOther 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: West Berkshire

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

2011
90%
2021
86%
2031proj
81%
2041proj
76%
9%
2051proj
69%
10%
2061proj
61%
11%
9%
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 West Berkshire ranges from55.4% to 72.0%by 2051. That is a 16.6pp 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 61.7% by 2051

Religion projection

Muslim 1.4% (2021) → 3.1% (2051). Christian 52.3% → 12.0%.

Religion: West Berkshire

021436485%Census 2021Christian 12% in 2051No religion 80% in 2051Muslim 3% 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

12% foreign-born (2021). Diversity: moderately diverse (entropy 0.34). 95.2% main language English.

UK-born vs foreign-born: West Berkshire

729507293%Census 2021UK-born 48% in 2051Foreign-born 52% 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: Limited ethnic diversity. Projections primarily driven by national trends.

Census 2021 mobility: 8.8% moved within UK, 0.7% arrived from abroad
white other13.6% internal, 3% international
asian12.2% internal, 4% international
other12.7% internal, 2.4% international
mixed11.6% internal, 0.9% international
black11% internal, 1.3% international
white british8.1% internal, 0.3% international

Why West Berkshire is changing

-4.8pp
National trend
-6.4pp
Age structure
-0.8pp
Local migration
+2.4pp

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 West Berkshire on UK Demographics →