Trend
-31 Latest quarter change
+771 Change across series
48 Official data points
Wigan
1,189 on asylum support. Rank 22 nationally, 3 in North West. Rate: 34.47 per 10,000 (91st percentile). Regional provider: Serco.
2025-12-31 North West region
Summary
Wigan has 1,189 people on asylum support at quarter end, ranking 22 out of 361 local authorities nationally. The rate of 34.47 per 10,000 residents places it around the 91st percentile. No contingency accommodation recorded. No hotel evidence attached yet. These are quarter-end stock numbers, not throughput.
Supported asylum in Wigan
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 1,183
Initial accommodation 0
Subsistence only 6
Contingency accommodation 0
Pathway breakdown
Other routes
Homes for Ukraine 269
Afghan programme 28
Resettlement cumulative 0
Population context
All pathways total 1,486
Share of local population 0.43%
Hotel evidence
No public hotel evidence attached to this area yet.
No public hotel evidence logged for this area yet.
Ethnic composition projection
Wigan: WBI 91.8% (2021) → 67.4% (2051). 80% CI: 64–70.3%.
Ethnic composition — Wigan
White British White Other Asian Mixed Other 80% CI
Model: Hamilton-Perry single-year CCRs, 1,000 Monte Carlo simulations, SNPP-constrained
Census 2011 → 2021 cohort change ratios. Shaded band = 80% confidence interval from stochastic perturbation (σ=0.04, calibrated from NEWETHPOP validation). Not a forecast.
Religion projection
Muslim 1.3% (2021) → 2.9% (2051). Christian 65.9% → 11.9%.
Religion — Wigan
Christian No religion
Nativity
6.2% foreign-born (2021). Diversity: low diversity (entropy 0.22). 96.5% main language English.
UK-born vs foreign-born — Wigan
UK-born Foreign-born
low immigration: Limited ethnic diversity. Projections primarily driven by national trends.
Why Wigan is changing
-3.6ppWhite British change 2011–2021. Cyan = decline. Amber = growth.
Dominant driver: national trend. Shift-share methodology following Franklin (2014).
Economy & housing by ethnicity
Census 2021 employment, homeownership, and qualifications by ethnic group.
Employment rate
White British 60.1%
Mixed 68.4%
White Other 75%
Other 55.5%
Homeownership rate
White British 68%
Mixed 50.4%
White Other 43.6%
Other 24.2%
Degree+ qualification rate
White British 25.4%
Mixed 34.1%
White Other 33.3%
Other 32.7%
Source
Census 2021 RM018 (economic activity), RM134 (tenure), RM049 (qualifications) by ethnic group. Observed, not projected.
School ethnicity
DfE School Census 2024/25: 48,339 pupils. 82.6% White British. Schools are 9.3pp more diverse than the general population.
Pupil ethnicity
White British 82.6%
Black 4.4%
Asian 4%
White Other 4%
Mixed 3.4%
Other 1.5%
What this means
Schools are 9pp more diverse than the general population — schools show the future.
17.4% Minority pupils now
28.9% Projected 2041
Source
DfE School Census 2024/25. State-funded schools. Upper-tier LA level.
Service demand impact
Projected impact of demographic change on local services.
non-English speakers
Interpreter demand is manageable at current levels.
foreign-born growth to 2051
High foreign-born population growth will drive additional housing demand, particularly in the private rented sector.
EAL growth
EAL demand growth is moderate.
National benchmarks
Supported asylum count
1,189 National distribution.
Supported asylum rate
34.47 Per 10,000 residents.
Contingency accommodation
0 Hotel and contingency placements.
Regional peers
Top 5 in North West by supported asylum.