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This project, which will appear in a series of short articles, explores the barriers asylum seeks are facing to accessing asylum advice services across Hertfordshire.

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From June 2024 - June 2025, the number of individuals who claimed asylum in the UK reached 111, 084 people which is the highest number in records dating back to 1979[1]. Across the UK, the total asylum seeker population as of September 2025 equates to 318,995 individuals[2]. Within the East of England, there are 25,172 asylum seekers, of whom 5,110 reside in Hertfordshire. From 2020 to 2025 there has been a 20% increase in the number of asylum seekers being housed across Hertfordshire. As of September 2025,[3] the total asylum seeker population in Stevenage equated to 538 people compared to the 276 individuals recorded in 2020.[4]  With this increase in numbers comes an increased demand on services to meet the needs of asylum seekers to accessing information; pre-existing barriers in this area for services makes this even more challenging. 

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Hertfordshire County Council’s asylum service referral guide highlights numerous pre-existing barriers which commonly occur when providing advice services to asylum seekers and refugees.[5] These include communication barriers due to language differences, cultural differences in relation to understandings of health care and sensitivities around vulnerable subject matter, trauma associated challenges related to mental health, forms of digitals exclusion preventing access to priority services, amongst many others. 

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Stevenage Citizens Advice provides a specialist Level 1 immigration advice service which operates across the whole of Hertfordshire and is progressing towards reaching Level 2 advice. Over the last year, our immigration service has extended further to work closely with partners to assist asylum seekers and refugees in hotel accommodation and other residences. Furthering our understandings of the pre-existing barriers in these areas is essential for the continuous growth of the service to provide timely and targeted advice which will reduce demand on other public services.

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The study has used qualitative interviews with staff members from organizations across Hertfordshire’s asylum advice network which operates as frontline services. The interviews investigate the barriers asylum seekers are facing in accessing information regarding their rights to legal information, healthcare, and resources which improve daily living. Alongside these interviews, is a review of existing resources accessible to asylum seekers across Hertfordshire.

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These interviews focus on four priority areas:

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• Communication access through interpretation and translation services

• Cultural Understandings of Healthcare & its Impact on Accessing

• Digital Exclusions to Access

• Hertfordshire’s Asylum Advice Network’s Processes & Signposting

 

We aim for the findings to develop evidence-based recommendations for improving how Hertfordshire’s asylum services operate and navigate challenges to mitigating barriers to information.