Homeless Glaswegians who wouldn’t qualify for accommodation because they aren’t newly arrived, illegal migrants.
Cameron Roy – The Daily Mail Oct 11, 2026
Nineteen council areas are accommodating more than ten times as many asylum seekers as households of homeless people, Daily Mail analysis suggests.
The biggest disparity was in Hyndburn in Lancashire, with the latest government data showing 423 asylum seekers were being housed there, while only 14 homeless households were in temporary accommodation.
The full results of our investigation can be viewed in our interactive map, which lays bare the true situation in every council.
It comes after the shocking case of a 26-year-old heavily pregnant woman being left homeless in Glasgow after the council refused to find her a home – despite more than 3,700 mostly male asylum seekers living in state-supported accommodation in the city.
The charity Homeless Project Scotland publicised the 34-week-pregnant mother’s plight on Facebook, revealing she had fled an abusive relationship in London but was still snubbed by Glasgow City Council.
Now critics of Britain’s creaking asylum system have seized upon the Mail’s investigation as proof that the asylum system is having a ‘detrimental impact’ on the level of support being offered to the most vulnerable.
Home Office data shows more than 74,000 asylum seekers – the equivalent of a town the size of St Albans or Woking – were being housed across England as of the end of June.
By comparison, 123,000 homeless ‘households’ were in temporary accommodation as of March. Households in temporary accommodation roughly contain around 2.5 people.
But because there is no data for homeless people in temporary housing for each council, the only way to compare the two is to match homeless households against the number of individual asylum seekers.
Twelve councils did not publish figures on homeless households, so we excluded them from our analysis. Data for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were also excluded because they are recorded differently.
The tragic case of the pregnant woman in Glasgow evoked widespread criticism of Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership, which is a combination of the city’s council and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to manage social work services.
A spokesman from the organisation said yesterday it was ‘reviewing’ her case while ‘engaging and supporting her appropriately’.
Robert Bates, Research Director at the Centre for Migration Control, told the Daily Mail the case was symptomatic of ‘the two-tiered approach’ that has been in operation in Britain.
He said: ‘The political class have at every turn prioritised illegal migrants over British citizens.
‘Tens of thousands of asylum seekers are instantly found accommodation in hotels and HMOs whilst many Brits who have fallen on hard times are left to fend for themselves.
‘The British government should be working exclusively for the people of this country, not putting uninvited interlopers at the front of the queue.’
The full list of council areas accommodating more asylum seekers than homeless households
Rate of difference between asylum seekers housed and homeless households in temporary accommodation