Blow to Government as net migration to Britain grows

Home Secretary Theresa May and Prime Minister David Cameron want to reduce net migration from non-EU countries to less than 100,000 before the next election in 2015.

But the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed a net flow of 176,000 migrants came to the 
UK in the year to December 2012, up from 153,000 in the year 
to September 2012, ending 
five consecutive quarters of decline.

In a bumper pack of migration and population statistics, the ONS also revealed the number of children born in the UK to Romanian mothers has reached a record high as the country became one of the top 10 places of origin for foreign-born mothers for the first time.

The figures come amid growing concern that Britain will face a new wave of eastern European immigration when access restrictions to the UK labour market for Romania and Bulgaria are lifted on January 1 next year.

Chris Bryant MP, Labour’s shadow immigration Minister, said: “This increase in net migration of 23,000 in three months is a blow for Theresa May, exposing once again the Government’s empty rhetoric on immigration.

“The Prime Minister promised ‘no ifs and no buts’ to get net migration down to the tens of thousands by the end of the Parliament.

“But these figures show an increase in immigration over the last three months, with more EU migrants arriving.”

The increase was driven by a drop in the number of migrants leaving Britain, which fell from 347,000 in the year to September 2012 to 321,000 in the year to 
December 2012, while the number of immigrants arriving in the country also fell from 500,000 in the year to September 2012 to 497,000 in the year to December 2012.

There has been a “statistically significant” decrease in the net migration of citizens from outside the European Union (EU) to 157,000 in the year ending December 2012 from 204,000 the previous year, the ONS said.

Sarah Mulley, associate director at the Institute for Public 
Policy Research (IPPR), said: “Today’s statistics suggest the Government is running out of options to meet its target to reduce net migration to less than 100,000 by 2015.”

Immigration Minister Mark Harper said: “Immigration from outside the EU is now at its lowest level for 14 years.

“At the same time, there has been an increase in the number of sponsored student visa applications for our world-class universities, and an increase in the number of visas issued to skilled workers.

“We are committed to bringing net migration down from the hundreds of thousands to the tens of thousands.”

Comment: Page 12.