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Net migration predicted to hit record level Net migration to UK hits record high of 330,000
(about 3 hours later)
New official figures are expected to show that net migration to Britain has reached record or near record levels. Annual net migration to Britain has hit a record level of 330,000 – 10,000 higher than its previous high in 2005, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The politically sensitive figure, which estimates the net flow of people in and out of Britain, stood at 318,000 in the last set of quarterly figures published in May just after the general election. The 94,000 rise in overall net migration in the 12 months to March was fuelled by a rise of 84,000 in immigration to 636,000 and a fall of 9,000 in emigration, according to the latest quarterly figures.
This was just 2,000 below the 320,000 record high in net migration recorded in 2005, soon after Poland and other east European states joined the EU. The net migration figure is politically significant since David Cameron renewed the Conservatives pledge to reduce it to the “tens of thousands” immediately after the general election. The rise is split between a 56,000 increase in the numbers coming to live in Britain from within the European Union and a 39,000 rise in those from outside the EU.
The latest quarterly migration figures, covering the 12 months to March 2015, published on Thursday are expected to show that the number of foreign-born people living in Britain has passed the eight million mark for the first time and that more than three million of them have become British citizens since arriving in the UK. Related: Migration figures: what do the numbers really mean?
The immigration minister, James Brokenshire, announced further details of the government’s forthcoming immigration bill earlier this week, including measures to imprison migrants found to be working illegally and to temporarily close down businesses that are found to be employing illegal labour. The latest rise in net migration has been mainly driven by a continuing rise in those coming to work in Britain who account for 65,000 of the increase. Nearly two-thirds of those already had a job to come to. There has been a near doubling in the number of Romanians and Bulgarians coming to Britain, from 28,000 to 53,000 in the last 12 months.
The impact of the Calais migrant crisis has driven immigration to the top of voters’ concerns according to an Ipsos Mori poll earlier this month with more than 50% of voters naming it as a major issue issue facing the country. This was an eight point jump compared with the June poll in the same series. The 330,000 record high in net migration is 10,000 higher than the previous peak of 320,000 recorded in 2005, soon after Poland and other east European states joined the EU. The net migration figure is politically significant, since David Cameron renewed the Conservatives’ pledge to reduce it to the “tens of thousands” immediately after the general election.
Mark Hilton, immigration policy director at London First, said: “The business community wants the government to tone down its anti-migration rhetoric. Migration is an important part of being in a thriving, modern economy. The latest quarterly migration figures, covering the 12 months to March 2015, published on Thursday also show that the number of foreign-born people living in Britain has passed the 8 million mark for the first time and that more than 3 million of them have become British citizens since arriving in the UK.
“As we’ve seen in recent days, the global economy remains fragile, so now is not the time to pull up the drawbridge to the type of global talent that will help drive our economic growth. The immigration minister, James Brokenshire, said the new figures showing net migration 220,000 higher than the government’s 100,000 target – and rising – were “deeply disappointing”.
“Immigrants are job creators, allowing British businesses to expand into new markets, by bringing specialist skills. So far from taking our jobs, they actually create more of them.” He said: “We have slashed student fraud, struck off nearly 900 bogus colleges, and toughened access to welfare and housing. But with nearly 100,000 non-EU students remaining in the UK at the end of their courses and British business still overly reliant on foreign workers in a number of sectors there is much more to do.”
The Institute of Directors echoed the warning to the government not to pull up the drawbridge and backed a call from the migration thinktank British Future for a comprehensive review of the UK’s immigration needs and the impact on the economy, culture and society. The minister said the government had asked for official advice on reducing economic migration from outside the EU as well as negotiating labour market and welfare reforms within Europe.
Simon Walker, the IoD’s director general, said: “By announcing polices on the hoof every time new figures come out, the government betrays its lack of a long-term plan on migration. Scrabbling around to find measures to hit a bizarre and unachievable migration target is no way to give British businesses the stable environment they need. But the business organisation London First warned the government not to use the record figure as an excuse to limit the sort of positive immigration that grows the economy.
“Combined with ministers’ increasingly strong rhetoric on immigration, the UK’s reputation as an open, competitive economy is under threat.” “Our world-beating industries need access to talent and skills from around the world in order to remain global leaders,” said Mark Hilton, London First’s immigration policy director. “But they are struggling to bring in the talent we lack because they’re hitting government limits for skilled workers.”
“We need to make strategic decisions on immigration, not knee-jerk ones that fail to take account of the needs of the economy.”
Earlier this week Brokenshire announced further details of the government’s forthcoming immigration bill, including measures to imprison migrants found to be working illegally and to temporarily close down businesses found to be employing illegal labour.
The impact of the Calais migrant crisis has driven immigration to the top of voters’ concerns according to an Ipsos Mori poll earlier this month, with more than 50% of voters naming it as a major issue issue facing the country. This was an eight-point jump compared with the June poll in the same series.
British Future’s Sunder Katwala said a comprehensive immigration review would set out “what’s possible and what isn’t. It could also give the public more of a say in what happens – providing impartial facts about the impacts of different policies on the economy, society and public services.”British Future’s Sunder Katwala said a comprehensive immigration review would set out “what’s possible and what isn’t. It could also give the public more of a say in what happens – providing impartial facts about the impacts of different policies on the economy, society and public services.”