How asylum protests brought disorder to Thetford

Here is a summary of the information provided in the details:

**How many people are in asylum accommodation?**
– An asylum seeker is someone who wants to be in the UK because they say they cannot live safely in their own country due to persecution or violence.
– The government must house asylum seekers if they cannot financially support themselves while their claim is being considered.
– As of March 2026, there were 93,653 people in asylum accommodation.
– About 22% of those (20,885 people) were housed in hotels, which are used when shared housing like HMOs (houses of multiple occupation) or former military sites are unavailable.
– The government aims to stop the use of hotels for asylum seekers by 2029.
– More people are housed in hotels in the south of England, whereas HMOs are more common in the north of England and Scotland.

**How many people apply for asylum in the UK?**
– From April 2025 to March 2026, 93,525 people applied for asylum in the UK, down 12% from the previous year.
– Most people arriving by small boat claim asylum, but they made up only 42% of all asylum seekers during this period.
– The rest include people who arrived via other illegal means or came to the UK legally and applied for asylum while holding or shortly after holding a valid visa.

**How big is the asylum backlog?**
– It can take years for the government to decide on asylum applications.
– As of March 2026, 48,758 people (from 35,744 applications) were waiting for an initial decision, down 55% from the previous year.
– Additionally, 87,450 refused asylum applications were waiting for the outcome of appeals in courts, up 72% from the previous year.
– Together, these cases form the government’s asylum backlog, which it has pledged to clear.

If you want more detailed numbers by council area for asylum seekers in hotels, there was a section but no detailed data was provided in the snippet you shared. Let me know if you want me to help you with something else!