Scotland

West Lothian

Updated 30 Jun 2026 · Home Office · Corrections log
Mr Douglas Alexander
Mr Douglas AlexanderLabour (Co-op) · Lothian East

2 MPs cover constituencies in or overlapping West Lothian.

31 people on asylum support in West Lothian

Rank 254 of 361 councils nationally. The rate of 1.66 per 10,000 puts West Lothian in the 24th percentile. That means fewer than 76% of areas. 3 of them receive subsistence only and are not in Home Office accommodation. 23 in contingency accommodation (hotels, not housing). Accommodation and support for 31 people at £107 per person per day is about £1.2M a year.

What asylum costs West Lothian

£700Kestimated hotel costs/year
£79Ksubsistence payments/year
£37KLA dispersal grant/year

Estimates based on 31 people on asylum support in West Lothian(0.03% 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.

How many asylum seekers are in West Lothian?

31 people were receiving Home Office asylum support in West Lothian at 30 June 2026, the most recent quarter published. That ranks 254th of 361 UK local authorities. It counts people on support at that date, which is not the number who claimed asylum there and not the number waiting for a decision.

How many asylum seekers per 10,000 people are in West Lothian?

1.66 per 10,000 residents, which places West Lothian in the 24th percentile of UK local authorities. It carries fewer per head than 76% of the country. Rate is the fair comparison between areas, because a large city carries more people than a small district at the same pressure per head.

Are there asylum hotels in West Lothian?

The Home Office does not say. 23 people in West Lothian were in contingency accommodation at 30 June 2026, and contingency accommodation is the category that includes hotels. No site in the area has been named in council papers, a parliamentary answer or published reporting, so the buildings are not identifiable.

Who houses asylum seekers in West Lothian?

Mears holds the Home Office asylum accommodation contract for the region West Lothian sits in, under the Asylum Accommodation and Support Contracts. The contract covers a whole region rather than a single council, and the Home Office does not publish a council-by-council split of which properties sit under it.

Are all of them in Home Office accommodation in West Lothian?

No. 3 of the 31 on support in West Lothian, about 10%, receive subsistence only: a cash payment with no accommodation, usually because they are living with friends or family. The rest are in Home Office accommodation, which covers dispersal housing and hotels.

West Lothian: asylum numbers falling

Quarter-end stock series to Jun 2026. 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.

31
9765320Mar 2014Jun 2026Peak Dec 2023Rwanda scrapped
Exact values
PeriodValue
Mar 20142
Jun 20142
Sept 20151
Dec 20151
Mar 20161
Jun 20161
Sept 20161
Dec 20161
Mar 20171
Jun 20211
Sept 20211
Dec 202397
Mar 202463
Jun 202479
Sept 202485
Dec 202483
Mar 202579
Jun 202589
Sept 202589
Dec 202579
Mar 202656
Jun 202631

Trend

-25Latest quarter change
+29Change across series
22Official data points

Local numbers

Accommodation split

Dispersal accommodation5
Initial accommodation0
Subsistence only3
Contingency accommodation23

Pathway breakdown

Supported asylum
31
Homes for Ukraine
191
Afghan programme
11
Resettlement cumulative
66

Other routes

Homes for Ukraine191
Afghan programme11
Resettlement cumulative66

Population context

All pathways total233
Share of local population0.12%