In today’s blog post we will be examining and commenting on the expected rise in net migration to the UK that is set to be confirmed by the release of the Office of National Statistics latest migration statistics this Thursday. As always the statistics will provide a breakdown of quarterly immigration across a range of visa categories including visas granted, dependents who enter with a main applicant and the number of applications submitted amongst other key bits of information. The figure that is expected to draw the most amount of attention, however, is the net migration stastics for 2014 which is expected to surpass the current record set in 2005 of a net gain of 320,000 migrants.
Last quarter’s data showed a net gain of 318,000 migrants, just 2,000 more than the 2005 number, which is expected to be surpassed with the confirmation of the latest figures tomorrow. This net figure is important as it is used by government to set immigration targets and is a of key influence when setting immigration policy.
Another landmark figure that is expected to be announced is the number of non-UK born nationals residing in the UK and this number is set to top the 8 million mark. The previous figure of 7.78 million in 2013 showed that 4.9 million did not have British nationality. All in all the key message is that net migration is higher today than it was a few years ago.
According to the Migration Observatory there is no optimum size for the UK population making it hard to determine and accurately interpret the net gain, however, immigration obviously brings both benefits and disadvantages to the country and affects those who live here. Economic and cultural arguments can be used both ways to justify reducing the number of immigrants here or allowing the number to rise.
In 2012 the British government voted on a non-biding pact to limit immigration to ensure that the UK population size did not surpass 70 million. However, the Scottish government believes in increasing the number of immigrants, arguing that rual and costal communities are unsustainable without it.
An all time low public opinion of immigrants forms the background to the latest figures and the on going migrant and humanitarian crisis continues to play out across the channel tunnel which will make the publication of the latest figures even more interesting.
It has been no secret that the current conservative government is aiming to reduce immigration and is looking to do this through raising the minimum salary requirements for Tier 2 workers, targetting landlords who let to illegal migrants and making it harder for foreign students to switch to Tier 2 visas in country by making them return to their country of origin to sumbit their application. However, critics have labeled some of these proposals as short sighted and that they could potentially be damaging to the economy.
Regardless of the measures that the government are looking to introduce it is clear that David Cameron’s 2010 pledge to reduce net migration to 100,000 has failed spectacularly. Immigration as always is a hot topic and it is though that it was a deciding factor in the success that UKIP enjoyed in the last election.
Tomorrow we will be publishing out new infographics breaking down the latest immigration figures into a more easier to digest format so stay tuned! What do you think of these expected figures? Should anything be done to increase or decrease the number of migrants? Indeed, can anything be done? Let us know by leaving your thoughts below.
