The immigration statistics for the second quarter of 2019 (Q2) were released on 22nd August. Key asylum figures are below and you can find the data tables here. Some headlines from the stats are below:

– There were 32,693 asylum applications in the UK (main applicants only) in the year ending June 2019, 21% more than the previous year but below the level seen in the year ending June 2016 during the European migration crisis.

– There were 3,496 applications from Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children, 39% more than the previous year. Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children accounted for 11% of total asylum applications in the latest year.

– There were 20,366 initial decisions made in the last year, of which 44% (9,052) were grants of asylum, humanitarian protection or alternative forms of leave; compared with a grant rate of 28% in the previous year.

– There were 31,884 cases pending initial decision at the end of June 2019, of which 53% (16,970) were more than 6 months old. This is the largest backlog recorded in asylum statistics.

– There were 10,016 appeal decisions in the last year, 42% of which were allowed (4,200).

– At the end of June 2019, 45,203 asylum seekers in the UK were in receipt of support under Section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, up 6% from the same time the previous year.

–  In the year ending June 2019, 5,691 people were provided protection under resettlement schemes (a similar number to the previous year). The Vulnerable Person Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) accounted for nearly three-quarters (4,200) of those resettled in the UK in the year ending June 2019. A further 202 refugees were resettled through the Community Sponsorship scheme.

The statistics now also include a section on the ‘outcome of asylum applications’, which estimate the final grant rate and outcomes of applications by year. The tables illustrate that of the asylum applications made in the years 2015 to 2017, where the outcome us known, around half (49%) resulted in some form of grant of leave to remain in the UK, including after the conclusion of any appeals.