The Latest Immigration Statistics 25 November, 2010 The latest migration statistics confirm that immigration has continued at the high levels of the past five years. The figures also confirm that three million foreign migrants came here under the last government (while 880,000 British people left). Only a quarter of net immigration was from the EU while the net inflow from Eastern Europe was only 16,000 in 2009. Meanwhile settlement is the highest since records began and has risen across all categories. This entirely justifies the government’s decision to break the link between migration and settlement. The number of students from India coming to the UK doubled from 2008 to 2009 indicating the need for action in this field to ensure that it is only genuine students who are admitted. Commenting, Sir Andrew Green, Chairman of MigrationWatch UK, said “These new figures confirm the massive impact that immigration is having on our population. This fully justifies the government’s efforts to get our immigration system under control - a policy that the public overwhelmingly support.” Sources: Migration Statistics 2009 Control of immigration Quarterly Statistical Summary July-September 2010 Impact of Government Measures 23 November, 2010 A direct comparison is not possible. There is a significant reduction on the 2009 immigration figures but Intra-Company Transfers (ICTs) have been excluded from the limit for next year. Against that, the minimum salary for ICTs has been increased from £24,000 p.a. to £40,000. This is likely to reduce the numbers involved. However, even if there is no reduction in ICTs, there will still be a reduction from 50,000 in 2009 to 43,000. There is also an important hint that the government intends to close down the Tier 1 (Post Study) Route which last year allowed 38,000 foreign graduates to stay on for two years in search of work. Commenting, Sir Andrew Green, Chairman of MigrationWatch UK said, ‘This is a thorough and wide-ranging package. The government’s decision to break the link between economic migration and settlement is a major step forward. These measures are a very good start on delivering the government’s immigration pledges. The next stage is to address bogus students and bogus colleges.’ Net Migration from the European Union 23 November, 2010 During the leaders debate held at the time of the last election, Nick Clegg famously claimed that 80% of immigration was from the EU. The latest figures for net immigration (estimates for 2009) show 43,000 net migrants from the EU compared to 226,000 net non-British migrants – just under 20%. If one takes the average of the last five years, the percentage is 30%. Source years 2005-2008: Table 2.01a Long Term International Migration. Office for National Statistics. Source 2009: Migration Statistics Quarterly Report: August 2010. Office for National Statistics. Background brief: Intra-Company Transfers 17 November, 2010 The Prime Minister announced on 3 November that work permits for Intra-Company Transfers would not be subject to a cap. On 5 November, the Home Secretary, speaking at the Policy Exchange Think Tank, hinted at imposing a minimum salary. Meanwhile, leaks from Brussels suggest that the government will agree to a commitment to accept up to 20,000 Indian workers per year as part of the EU/India Free Trade Agreement. The Briefing Paper No 3.12 sets out evidence suggesting that this route is being abused. It calls for a number of changes, notably a minimum salary of £50,000 a year. Back Bench Debate on Immigration The Scale of immigration 17 November, 2010 The GLA Briefing claims (paragraph 4) that "net international migration in 2009 was at its lowest level since mid 1995 which is comparable to the government’s target". This is quite wrong. As the paper recognises elsewhere, net international migration in 2009 is estimated at 196,000; in 1995 it was 76,000. The central point is that the average over the past five years has been 200,000 while the ONS projection for 70 million in 20 years is based on the assumption that net migration will continue at 180,000. The economic impact The GLA claim that, “If numbers fall in line with government targets… there would be a negative impact of about -1% on GDP”. This is based on a Financial Times article of 18 June which is faulty for reasons fully explained in a Migrationwatch press release of 19 July. Briefly, their calculation assumed that, over a 5 year period, the growth of output would be entirely constrained by the growth of the population over the age of 16. However, with 2.5 million unemployed a shortage of labour is not the main constraint on output. Furthermore, this claim ignores the point that what matters, as the House of Lords Select Committee on Economic Affairs pointed out, is GDP per head. There is nothing in the GLA briefing to suggest that this might fall. Students The corrected briefing claims that "80% of overseas students leave the UK within 5 years of entering". In fact, the Home Office research to which they were referring found that 80% were "no longer in the system". That is not to say that they had left the country. There are still no records of departure. In fact, there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that overstaying students are a significant part of net migration. To watch the debate on 18 November click here
Press Releases
2009 Tier 1 (General) 14,000 1,000 (Exceptional talent) Tier 2 (General) 8,500 20,700 Work Permits (Previous system) 5,200 Nil Intra-Company Transfer 22,000 No limit, but minimum salary of £40,000 Total 49,700 21,700 4,250 Nil Rebuttal of Briefing by the Major of London
Thursday, 25 November 2010
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