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Scotland

West Lothian

Updated 30 Jun 2026 · Home Office
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 most 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.

West Lothian: 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.

79
9765320Mar 2014Dec 2025Peak 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

Trend

-10Latest quarter change
+77Change across series
20Official 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%
Full demographic profileSchool pressure, housing demand, service demand scoring, economic profile, language projections, and more on UK Demographics.View West Lothian on UK Demographics →