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London

Westminster

Updated 30 Jun 2026 · Home Office
Rachel Blake
Rachel BlakeLabour (Co-op) · Cities of London and Westminster
42 people on asylum support in Westminster

Rank 239 of 361 councils nationally. The rate of 1.98 per 10,000 puts Westminster in the 26th percentile. That means fewer than most areas. 34 of them receive subsistence only and are not in Home Office accommodation. Accommodation and support for 42 people at £107 per person per day is about £1.6M a year.

What asylum costs Westminster

£948Kestimated hotel costs/year
£107Ksubsistence payments/year
£50KLA dispersal grant/year

Estimates based on 42 people on asylum support in Westminster(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.

Westminster: 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.

32
1,0456973480Mar 2014Dec 2025Peak Sept 2023Rwanda schemeAlbania dealBibby StockholmRwanda scrapped
Exact values
PeriodValue
Mar 201446
Jun 201449
Sept 201447
Dec 201446
Mar 201550
Jun 201543
Sept 201538
Dec 201535
Mar 201632
Jun 201622
Sept 201615
Dec 201627
Mar 201721
Jun 201726
Sept 201727
Dec 201726
Mar 201825
Jun 201817
Sept 201825
Dec 201821
Mar 201919
Jun 201922
Sept 201923
Dec 201920
Mar 202023
Jun 202031
Sept 202038
Dec 202037
Mar 202135
Jun 202141
Sept 202151
Dec 2021113
Mar 202296
Jun 2022184
Sept 2022124
Dec 2022961
Mar 2023997
Jun 20231,030
Sept 20231,045
Dec 2023926
Mar 2024676
Jun 2024545
Sept 2024514
Dec 2024222
Mar 202540
Jun 202546
Sept 202536
Dec 202532

Trend

-4Latest quarter change
-14Change across series
48Official data points

Local numbers

Accommodation split

Dispersal accommodation8
Initial accommodation0
Subsistence only34
Contingency accommodation0

Pathway breakdown

Supported asylum
42
Homes for Ukraine
1,266
Afghan programme
31
Resettlement cumulative
0

Other routes

Homes for Ukraine1,266
Afghan programme31
Resettlement cumulative0

Population context

All pathways total1,339
Share of local population0.63%

Ethnic composition projection

Westminster: White British 28.0% (2021) to 11.2% (2051). 80% CI: 9.7, 13.1%.

Ethnic composition: Westminster

010203040% of populationCensus 2021IllustrativeWhite British 8% in 2061White Other 17% in 2061Asian 19% in 2061Black 11% in 2061Mixed 15% in 2061Other 31% 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: Westminster

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

2011
35%
26%
15%
9%
11%
2021
28%
27%
17%
8%
13%
2031proj
22%
25%
18%
9%
9%
18%
2041proj
16%
22%
19%
10%
11%
22%
2051proj
11%
19%
20%
11%
13%
27%
2061proj
17%
19%
11%
15%
31%
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 Westminster ranges from15.6% to 17.9%by 2051. That is a 2.3pp 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 16.5% by 2051

Religion projection

Muslim 22.1% (2021) → 23.7% (2051). Christian 41.2% → 19.7%.

Religion: Westminster

1524344454%Census 2021Christian 20% in 2051No religion 49% in 2051Muslim 24% in 20512021203120412051
ChristianNo religionMuslim

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

Nativity

55.6% foreign-born (2021). Diversity: highly diverse (entropy 0.93). 73.6% main language English.

UK-born vs foreign-born: Westminster

1030507090%Census 2021UK-born 15% in 2051Foreign-born 85% 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.

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

Census 2021 mobility: 14.9% moved within UK, 4.8% arrived from abroad
white other19.3% internal, 7.9% international
asian13.4% internal, 7.9% international
mixed15.3% internal, 4.3% international
white british15% internal, 1.7% international
other11.6% internal, 3.4% international
black8.2% internal, 2.1% international

Why Westminster is changing

-7.3pp
National trend
-6.4pp
Age structure
+3.6pp
Local migration
-4.5pp

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 Westminster on UK Demographics →