Nobody receiving asylum support in Arun – as numbers jump across UK

The sign outside the Home Office in Westminster, London, following the resignation of Amber Rudd who resigned as Home Secretary amid claims she misled Parliament over targets for removing illegal migrants.

No one was receiving support while attempting to claim asylum in Arun in September, new figures show – despite a surge across the country.

The figures come as a leading refugee charity predicts the Government will struggle to commit to its pledge to clear the backlog in asylum applications by the end of next year.

While awaiting a decision, asylum seekers are unable to work but can be entitled to financial assistance and accommodation through what is known as 'Section 95' support.

Home Office figures show no one in Arun was receiving such support as of the end of September – while there were two claimants in September 2021.

Across the UK, 101,000 people were receiving some form of asylum support at the end of September, up 46% from the same time last year.

This included 58,000 people receiving Section 95 support, up from 46,000 the year before.

Recent refugees from Ukraine and Afghanistan receive different forms of support and are therefore not included in these figures.

Separate data, also from the Home Office, shows nearly 23,000 Afghans had arrived in the UK as of November 4, while 150,000 Ukrainians had arrived by December 12.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has recently vowed to clear the backlog of 117,000 asylum claims by the end of 2023.

He said the Government was hiring more caseworkers and overhauling the system for processing system.

Downing Street later revised this figure, saying that the Government would only seek to clear the 92,000 claims made before June – leading to accusations that the plan was already "falling apart" by the Labour party.