MORE migrants received support in Warrington while their claim for asylum was processed last year, new figures show.

The number of people waiting for an asylum decision in the UK fell by a fifth in December last year.

Migrants are unable to work while waiting for a decision, but they can be entitled to section 95 support which provides them with financial assistance and accommodation.

Home Office figures show 267 people were claiming assistance in Warrington as of December last year – up from 249 in 2022.

Of those, 259 were receiving section 95 support.

The figures come as the UK's backlog for asylum applications fell by 20 per cent from 160,919 at the end of the year in 2022, to 128,786 people waiting for an initial decision on their asylum applications in December 2023.

This is down by more than a quarter from 175,457 at the end of June 2023, which was the highest figure since current records began in 2010.

Claimants may also be eligible for support under section 98 – which is given to those who appear destitute and are waiting to see if they are eligible for section 95 – or section 4, for after a claim is rejected.

The number of people receiving section 98 support nationally fell substantially from 49,493 in December 2022 to just 1,244 last year. None of them were in Warrington.

Withdrawn applications quadrupled in 2023.

Changes were made to the immigration rules last year to speed up the process, including treating applications as ‘implicitly withdrawn’ if an applicant fails to maintain contact with the Home Office or complete an asylum questionnaire.

There were 24,027 withdrawals relating to 25,583 people – a steep rise on 2022 when there were 5,255 relating to 5,944 people.

A Home Office spokesman said: “We are making progress to stop the boats.

“Last year, the UK bucked the trend by reducing illegal migration and made significant steps in tackling abuse of our asylum system.

“Channel crossings were down by more than a third, we cleared the legacy asylum backlog, enforced returns were up by 66 per cent and we returned 50 hotels back to their communities.

“We will pass our Rwanda Bill so that those who enter the UK illegally can be quickly removed to a safe third country.

“Only by removing the prospect that illegal migrants can settle in the UK can we control our borders and save lives at sea.”