UK asylum system is on 'the brink', cross-party MPs' report warns

Britain's asylum system is "failing to cope in the face of severe pressure", an influential committee of cross-party MPs has warned.

In a report published on Friday, the public accounts committee said its findings were "disturbing" and government was "at considerable risk of repeating past failures" as it tried to tackle the problems.

Committee chair Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, a Conservative, said control of the asylum system "had been all but lost", and there was a focus on "short-term fixes".

The Home Office said the system was being reformed, as hotel use for asylum seekers was falling, asylum claims had declined, and the number of decisions made about cases had risen.

The cross-party MPs' report said it was "shocking and unacceptable" that the Home Office could not keep track of all those whose claims had failed, therefore not knowing with certainty who remained in the UK. The Home Office told the committee it only knows where the "vast majority" of failed asylum seekers are.

One of the recommendations called for a complete overhaul of the system of monitoring failed asylum seekers.

The report called on the government to explain how it will trace those with whom it is not in active contact as well as how it will tackle illegal working by failed asylum seekers and sanction employers.

Sir Geoffrey blamed a "directionless bureaucracy" for leaving asylum seekers either "in limbo, or lost".

"The focus on short-term, reactive 'fixes' has left the government chasing after pressures pushed from one part of the system to the next," Sir Geoffrey said in a statement. "There is no clear strategy uniting these efforts, and engagement across departments and with local authorities is patchy at best."

The committee analysed the government's data-gathering, accommodation management and costs associated with the asylum system.

In 2024–25, the Home Office spent approximately £4.9bn on asylum, of which £3.4bn was spent on accommodation and support.

The report recommended that the Home Office undertake a full review of all hotel accommodation contracts to assess whether current profit levels are reasonable.

A spokesperson for the Home Office said the findings supported its case for change, which is already under way.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood unveiled changes to the system earlier this year, including plans for people granted asylum in the UK being offered only temporary protection subject to review every 30 months.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said more than 73,000 migrants had crossed the Channel since Labour came to power and the apparatus to