Successive British governments have struggled to curb the rise in small boat crossings, which have become an increasingly contentious issue among voters since they began to increase sharply around 2018.
The number of boats making the journey from France to the United Kingdom during June, July and August – months that usually see a surge in crossings because of calmer weather – fell to a seven-year low, according to the British interior ministry.
A total of 7,371 migrants crossed the Channel in small boats over the three summer months, according to an AFP tally of official figures – the lowest number since 2020.
“We will be relentless in targeting the criminal gangs behind these crossings, and we will continue to remove the incentives that draw people here on unsafe and illegal routes,” Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said.
New deal
According to the PA news agency, around 102 small boats crossed the Channel between June and August, the lowest number since 2019, when 57 vessels made the journey.
London signed a new three-year agreement with Paris in April aimed at reducing crossings, with Britain agreeing to provide up to €766 million to strengthen French law enforcement efforts.
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Although the overall number of crossings has fallen, recent months have seen growing numbers of migrants making the dangerous journey aboard increasingly crowded vessels.
Earlier in August, a record 230 migrants crossed the Channel in a single long dinghy, surpassing the previous record of 165 people set in July.
French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to discuss migration and Channel crossings with Britain’s new Prime Minister Andy Burnham during a visit to the UK this week.
Separate interior ministry figures showed that asylum applications also fell by more than a fifth over the past year.
A total of 85,891 people applied for asylum in Britain in the 12 months to the end of June, down 21 percent year-on-year and the lowest figure since the year to June 2022.
People who had crossed the English Channel in small boats accounted for 40 percent of asylum applications during the latest period.
Reducing asylum backlog
Mahmood said the figures showed the government was “restoring control” over Britain’s borders and asylum system.
The fall in asylum claims was accompanied by a sharp reduction in the asylum backlog – which includes people awaiting an initial decision as well as those whose appeals are pending before a tribunal.
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The number of applicants waiting for an initial decision fell 56 percent in the year to June, to 40,168 – its lowest level since March 2019.
The number of asylum seekers being temporarily housed in UK hotels – another politically divisive issue and a focus of repeated protests – also fell by half year-on-year, to 16,021.
Labour, which has been in power since July 2024, has pledged to end the use of hotels for asylum seekers by the end of the current parliament, which is due to run until 2029.
(with newswires)