The prime minister has made tackling illegal immigration and “restoring order” to the asylum system a priority for the government.

Sir Keir Starmer has promised to “smash the gangs”. It follows predecessor Rishi Sunak’s pledge to “stop the boats”.

Yet small boat crossings have reached record levels for this point in the year – with about 800 migrants arriving on Wednesday alone.

BBC Verify looks at key government pledges – from ending the use of asylum hotels to returning more failed asylum seekers.

Labour promised to “end asylum hotels, saving the taxpayer billions of pounds” in its general election manifesto.

The government wants to fulfil this pledge by the end of this Parliament – meaning by 2029, unless an early election is called.

However, according to figures obtained by BBC Verify via a Freedom of Information request, the number of hotels used to house asylum seekers was higher in December than when Labour took office in July.

In July, 212 hotels were in use. By December, there were 218 – accommodating about 38,000 people.

Once someone applies for asylum, they gain legal protections while awaiting a decision – including accommodation if they cannot support themselves financially.

Almost everyone who arrives by small boat claims asylum – they made up a third of all asylum applications last year. Another large group of claimants were people already in the UK who had overstayed their visas.

The asylum process determines whether a person can remain in the UK because they have a “well-founded fear of persecution” in their home country.

Since 2020, the government has been increasingly reliant on hotels, partly because the supply of other types of asylum accommodation has not kept up with the numbers arriving in small boats.

But using asylum hotels is expensive – costing £8m per day in 2023-24.

As of 14 May, 12,699 people had arrived in the UK in small boats – up by a third compared with this time last year.

To reduce the number of crossings, the government has pledged to disrupt the people-smuggling gangs behind them.

But it is unclear how the government plans to measure its progress, or when the goal will be met.

The Home Office told us data on actions taken by officials to disrupt criminal gangs was “being collected and may be published in the future”.

There is some information on efforts to prevent small boat crossings by French authorities – who, under a 2023 deal, are receiving £476m from the UK over three years.

They say about 17,379 people were prevented from crossing between July and December 2024. We do not know what happened to them or whether they tried to cross again.

There have been high-profile cases of UK-based smugglers being sentenced, including a man who helped smuggle more than 3,000 people and raids on the continent.

And at the recent UK-EU summit both sides pledged to work together on finding solutions to tackle illegal immigration.

Illegal migration includes people who arrive on small boats, or hidden in lorries, and people who remain in the UK after their legal visa expires.

The vast majority of UK immigration is legal – this includes people who have been granted permission to come to work, study, claim asylum or for other authorised purposes.

Last year, about 43,000 people entered the UK illegally – about 4% of the nearly one million people who came to the UK legally in 2024.

The government has also promised “to clear the asylum backlog“.

This refers to the backlog of claims by asylum seekers who are waiting to hear whether they will be granted refugee status and be allowed to remain in the UK.

Since last summer, there has been a 50% increase in decisions on asylum cases.

But despite this, the UK saw a record number of asylum applications across the year, meaning the overall backlog has actually risen since the election.

Under Labour, 41% of asylum claims were granted between October and December 2024.

Another backlog the government wants to clear is the mountain of court appeals from asylum seekers following rejected claims.

That backlog has also got worse since last summer’s election, according to the latest figures.

There were about 33,000 cases at the end of June, rising to nearly 42,000 in December – the highest total since at least 2015.

The government has also promised to “increase returns” of people with no legal right to be in the UK. It said it would set up a new returns and enforcement unit with 1,000 extra staff.

Between July 2024 (when Labour came to power) and May 2025, there were 29,867 returns recorded by the Home Office.

This is up 12% compared to the same period 12 months ago.

So the government is meeting this pledge but it is worth noting that just 7,893 people were forcibly removed – which could involve being escorted on a plane by an immigration official.

The figures also show 8,511 failed asylum seekers were returned in this period but they do not say how many were enforced or voluntary.

Separate government figures from July to December gave a fuller breakdown showing many of those who did leave voluntarily did so without government assistance of even its knowledge at the time, as BBC Verify has previously pointed out.

This is despite repeated claims from ministers that the government has “removed” or even “deported” this many people.

The Home Office says all returns outcomes are the result of collective efforts by the department.