Methodology
How every figure on this site is calculated, what sources we use, and where assumptions are made.
Live Spending Counter
The homepage counter shows estimated UK government spending on the asylum system, updating every second.
1. Annual Total
The most recent verified annual figure: approximately £11.8 billion for 2024/25, from National Audit Office and Home Office publications.
2. Daily Rate
Annual total ÷ 365 = approximately £32.3 million per day.
3. Per Second Increment
Daily rate ÷ 86,400 seconds. The counter accumulates from the start of the year at this rate.
Per Hotel Cost Estimates
Cost estimates shown on individual map markers:
- •Base rate: £170 per person per day (2024/25 average), from the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford.
- •Bed count: Official counts from Home Office or NAO reports where available. Otherwise estimated from hotel capacity data.
- •Daily cost: Per person rate × bed count. Assumes full occupancy, which may overestimate partially filled sites.
Spending Categories
Total asylum system costs broken down by category, derived from NAO and Home Office reports:
Hotel and Accommodation
Hotel contracts, dispersed accommodation, initial accommodation centres. Largest category at approximately 76% of AASC contract costs.
Border Operations
Border Force patrols, channel crossing interceptions, port of entry processing.
Healthcare and Services
NHS healthcare for asylum seekers, mental health services, public health screening.
Legal and Processing
Legal aid, immigration tribunal costs, Home Office caseworker salaries, appeals.
Alternative Spending Comparisons
To provide context, we show what the same money could fund. Unit costs used:
- •NHS GP appointments: £200 per consultation. Source: PSSRU/YHEC Unit Costs of Health and Social Care 2023.
- •Paediatric cancer treatment: £50,000 per course. Source: NHS Specialised Commissioning (2024).
- •NHS Band 5 nurses: £98,000 per year fully loaded (salary, pension, NI, training). Source: NHS Employers (2024).
- •House building: £250,000 average per house. Source: ONS Construction Industry Statistics (2025).
These comparisons are illustrative and assume direct reallocation, which may not reflect real world budgetary constraints.
Known Limitations
- •Data lag: Government figures are published quarterly or annually. The counter uses the most recent available data.
- •Full occupancy assumption: Per hotel estimates assume all beds are filled. Actual costs may be lower.
- •Cross department spending: Some costs (NHS, MoJ) are not ringfenced to asylum and may include broader immigration spending.
- •Community submissions: User contributed locations are marked as pending until verified.
Updates
We monitor government publications, NAO reports, and parliamentary questions regularly. New data is incorporated as it becomes available. For every source we reference, see the Data Sources page.