The backlog for asylum appeals has reached a record high, despite small boat arrivals on so-called “red days” falling to a new low.
There were 90,341 cases in the system at the end of June, according to figures published on Thursday by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).
The total is up 51 per cent from 59,925 12 months earlier, while it stood at just 5,209 in June 2020.
It comes as the Home Office told GB News arrivals this year on so-called “red days”, when crossings are assessed as likely or highly likely because of factors including the weather, have almost halved from their peak in 2022.
The rise in the backlog is most likely to reflect the faster pace at which the Government is making initial decisions on asylum claims.
This has led to a growing number of claimants appealing against these decisions in the courts.
Figures released last month by the Home Office showed the number of people waiting for an initial decision on a claim for asylum is now at its lowest level since 2019.
The total has more than halved in the space of a year, falling from 90,812 in June 2025 to 40,168 in June 2026.
Small boat crossings have hit their lowest levels | REUTERS
The new MoJ also data shows 39 per cent of asylum appeals were successful between April and June this year, down slightly from 40 per cent in the same period last year.
The grant rate for appeals has been on a downwards trend in recent years, having stood at 52 per cent in April-June 2022.
An asylum appeal case can refer to one person or to a group of people, typically a main applicant and their family members.
The average waiting time to clear an asylum appeal in the three months to June this year was 72 weeks, the MoJ said, up from 67 weeks in January-March.
The MoJ released the new figures
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Meanwhile, across the 110 assigned “red days” between January 1 and August 31 2026, the average number of migrants arriving fell by 38 per cent from 232 to 144.
Home Office officials said this represents a 43 per cent drop from the peak of 251 in 2022.
In addition, Whitehall officials suggested small boat arrivals this year are down 44 per cent compared to the same period in 2025, while the number of boats has halved.
Shabana Mahmood said Labour was going to be ‘relentless’
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Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “Small boat crossings are down significantly, with the lowest number of arrivals over the summer since 2020.
“The data clearly shows this is not because of crossing conditions, but thanks to our efforts to restore order and control at our border.
“We will continue to be relentless in driving numbers down further. I will do whatever it takes to bear down on these dangerous and illegal crossings.”