Some extracts:
3. Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children
An unaccompanied asylum-seeking child (UASC) is a person under 18 years old, or in the absence of documentary evidence establishing age appears to be under 18, with no relative or guardian in the UK who is applying for asylum in his or her own right.
There were 2,307 asylum applications from UASC in the year ending March 2018, a 25% decrease compared to the previous year, falling after two consecutively high years.
The largest numbers of asylum applications from UASC were from Sudanese and Eritrean nationals, together accounting for over 30% of all UASC applications. This was followed by Vietnamese nationals (11%) and Iraqi nationals (11%).
Of the 2,218 initial decisions relating to UASC made in the year ending March 2018, 1,245 (56%) were grants of asylum or another form of protection, and an additional 374 (17%) were UASC leave (granted to UASCs refused asylum, but eligible for temporary leave.
A further 27% of UASC applicants were refused. This will include those from countries where it is safe to return children to their families, as well as applicants who were determined to be over 18 following an age assessment.
Data on UASC can be found in Asylum tables as 08 to as 10 (volume 3).
4. Support provided to asylum seekers
Section 95 support is provided to destitute asylum seekers until their claim is finally determined. Section 95 support can be provided as either accommodation or subsistence, or both.
Data from March 2018 show a total of 42,352 people in the UK were in receipt of support under Section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. This number is 8% higher than in the previous year. The total figure remains considerably below that for the end of December 2003 (the start of the published data series), when there were 80,123 people in receipt of Section 95 support.
An individual may be eligible for Section 4 support if their asylum application has been determined as refused and appeals rights are exhausted, but they are destitute and there are reasons that temporarily prevent them from leaving the UK. See the user guide for more details.
Separately, in March 2018, there were 4,333 people receiving support under Section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, a 13% increase from the previous year.
Data on support provided to asylum seekers can be found in Asylum tables as 15 to as 18 (volume 4).
7. Top EU countries receiving asylum applications, year ending March 2018
| Country of application | Total applications |
|---|---|
| Germany | 179,000 |
| Italy | 121,400 |
| France | 102,900 |
| Greece | 50,000 |
| United Kingdom (Home Office data) | 33,600 |
| Spain | 33,300 |
8. Data tables
Data referred to here can be found in the following tables:
Asylum tables volume 1
Asylum tables volume 2
Asylum tables volume 3
Asylum tables volume 4
Asylum tables volume 5