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Press Releases for June 2005

June 27, 2005
'One size fits all' wrong policy for UK migration

June 8, 2005
'One size fits all' wrong policy for UK migration

Full Text of Releases : June 2005

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'One size fits all' wrong policy for UK migration

Demands for Scotland to have a separate immigration policy from the rest of the UK have been described as ‘completely unjustified by the facts and likely to be harmful to England‘ in a new report out today.
(Read report)

The report, from think tank Migrationwatch, says that claims that Scotland has a ‘population crisis’ have been very greatly exaggerated and that the solutions put forward are more likely to exacerbate the situation south of the border than alleviate the problem of the age structure in Scotland.

‘It is true that prior to 2000 there was usually a net movement of people each year from Scotland to the rest of the UK and until 2003-4 there was also net international emigration,’ said Sir Andrew Green, chairman of Migrationwatch. ‘Coupled with a low birth rate this gave rise to concerns about the decline and ageing of the Scottish population. The Scottish Executive recommended an immigration policy geared specifically to Scotland’s needs as a solution to this problem.’

But, said Sir Andrew, migration has turned round since 2001. There has been an increasing net movement from the rest of the UK to Scotland and internationally. The government’s projections now show that, if these trends continue, there will be a small rise in the Scottish population over the next two decades.

Said Sir Andrew: ‘The real demographic challenge is population ageing - a problem common to all of the UK, which cannot be addressed effectively by immigration for the simple reason that migrants also age. Increasing and unsustainable levels of migration would be required to maintain the ratio of the population of working age to those of pension age.’ As the House of Lords Economic Committee put it in November 2003, “…it is neither appropriate nor feasible to attempt to counter the trend towards a more aged society in the UK through a manipulation of immigration policy.”

The report also points out that Scottish employers are already free to import skilled workers provided that there is no EU worker available. Removing this resident worker test would simply provide another ‘back door’ into Britain.

‘England already faces severe challenges arising from its high population density which is six times that of Scotland. It also faces a rapid increase in its population of about six million in the next three decades, caused mainly by high levels of immigration. A slackening of immigration requirements for Scottish employers would simply exacerbate this problem further,’ he said.

‘Our contention, therefore, is that proposals for a separate Scottish immigration scheme are completely unjustified by the facts. Such a scheme would merely exacerbate the situation in the rest of the UK because applicants granted a work permit on the basis of a shortage in Scotland would, in practice be able to move South. It is encouraging that a majority of Scots [1] disagree with the proposals’ he said.

NOTES:
[1] Yougov Poll 21 Feb 2005

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'One size fits all' wrong policy for UK migration

The ‘one size fits all’ nature of proposals for a common European economic migration policy would remove Britain's ability to manage its own affairs in its own interests.

This is one of the key messages to come from the evidence being presented by think-tank Migrationwatch today to the House of Lords Select Committee, ‘Inquiry into Economic Migration into the EU.’

The group says it is imperative that Britain retains its ‘opt out’ as this is an issue where competence should reside with national governments, not in Brussels.

‘The operation of the Euro is a graphic demonstration of why a one size fits all policy can cause serious problems,’ said Sir Andrew Green, Migrationwatch chairman. ‘It is exactly the same with economic migration as the 25 countries of Europe each have vastly differing needs.

‘To try and impose the same rules for them all would be the worst of options and would leave us unable to follow policies that are in the best interests of Britain.’

At a time when there was a major focus on the needs of Africa and its people the group called for the Government to establish an ‘ethical framework’ to protect third countries from, and compensate them for, the loss of skilled workers.

‘Much is quite rightly made of the valuable contribution made to the NHS for example by doctors and nurses from Africa, but when this means weakening even the most basic healthcare for the people of some African countries then something has gone seriously wrong,’ said Sir Andrew.

Sir Andrew will tell the Committee that the group challenge the government’s basic assumption that large scale immigration is beneficial to Britain. ‘The government keep changing their justification as each of their arguments is found to be faulty. This has now occurred six times and the government have still not made their case.[1] It is not surprising, therefore, that three quarters of the public think that there are too many immigrants coming to Britain,’ he said.

‘The Government must balance the short term needs of the economy against overcrowding and the strain on community relations. In the longer term, as the CBI have pointed out, only training for the UK work force can resolve skill shortages. Meanwhile, the reality is that Britain is already second only to Holland as the most crowded country in the EU; it does not need large scale immigration,’ he said.’Continued high levels of immigration would lead to serious social strains.’

NOTES
[1] See Briefing Paper 1.1 on www.migrationwatchuk.org

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