New figures from the Home Office suggest asylum hotel costs came down in the year to March. More here ⬇️

RT @MigObs: Our Director @M_Sumption on Today Programme this morning talking about why the care visa has been so difficult to manage . Ful….

You can see how your local MP voted on the recent welfare reform changes with our handy lookup tool 🔎

'Taxi boats' pick up migrants in waist-deep water as Channel smugglers switch tactics

The UK asylum appeals backlog hit a new record high in March 2025. There’s 88% more cases in the system than last year. The government has pledged to clear it as part of its plans to fix the asylum system. More here on BBC Verify’s live page ➡️

The government are packing more people into asylum hotel rooms to save money. It’s driving down the cost per night - falling from £162 in March 2023 to £118 in January this year. We confirmed the shift via FOI data. ➡️

Ros Atkins’ take on the White House claims against the BBC

RT @MigObs: ⁦Our senior researcher @P_W_Walsh was speaking to Naga Munchetty about the relationship (or lack of it, long term) between smal….

Today we’re looking at the latest government figures on how weather has affected small boat crossings to the UK. New figures suggest a recent rise in the number of days where crossings were likely, more here:

Heading back to the UK after my first dataharvest! I’m coming back with lots of story ideas, useful tools and new connections. Thanks to @journalismarena for organising an amazing #EIJC25 in Mechelen 🙏 and to everyone who came to my talk on irregular migration to the EU!

Net migration halved in 2024 to 431,000, ONS says

RT @MigObs: What sort of impact will the record fall in net migration have on the UK economy? Maybe less than you expect. Read about it i….

Most immigration to the UK happens legally, but the government has made pledges to tackle illegal immigration and fix the asylum system. We’ll be tracking their progress: ⬇️

Had a great time earlier this week discussing small boat crossings at #ddjuk25 at @MyBCU. Thanks to the BBC’s Shared Data Unit and @paulbradshaw for having me. Looking forward to @DataharvestEIJC next week, where I’ll be talking about sea arrivals to the EU.

You can see a summary of the main changes the government has announced here: And more coverage on our live page here: 🧵5/5.

The government has a much more control over legal migration than it does over irregular arrivals, through visa restrictions. In the hope of reducing net migration, it is tightening these rules to try to affect the largest groups coming into the country. 🧵4/5.

These make up a far smaller group of individuals. In 2024, small boat arrivals accounted for only about 4% of the total immigrant population. 🧵3/5

Most immigration to the UK happens legally, often via work or study visas. These are people who have permission to come into the country. Illegal or "irregular" migration includes individuals arriving without permission, mainly via small boats across the English Channel. 🧵2/5.

Earlier today, the government announced a shake-up of the UK’s immigration system. You might be forgiven for thinking this has something to do with small boat crossings - but it doesn’t, and it’s important to understand why. A short thread:. 🧵1/5.

🚨 Local elections!🚨. BBC Verify's data team will be bringing you all the latest results of the council, mayoral and by-election this evening. Polls close at 22:00!. Our analysis in maps and charts will be here: #Localelections.