Press Story

The UK is now in a "steady state" of net migration, according to the think tank IPPR. The think tank says that "the mirage of chasing a net migration target will not" and is calling on the government to focus on supporting communities affected by immigration impacts.

New data, released today by the Office for National Statistics, show that net migration (the difference between immigration and emigration) to the UK rose to 318,000 at the end of December 2014, compared to 209,000 in December 2013. The figures released today are considerably higher than 244,000 in 2010 when the current government took office.

Marley Morris, IPPR Research Fellow, said:

"The mirage of chasing a net migration target will not work in this Parliament, just as it did not work in the last. The UK is now in a steady state of net migration, which can be expected to continue for the foreseeable future. Cracking down on illegal immigration will have no impact on EU migration.

"The way forward for the government is to move away from a fixation on overall numbers and instead place real emphasis on supporting communities affected by high levels of inward migration. More needs to be done to address the pressures of immigration, including on local authorities, schools, GPs and social cohesion. We welcome the government's commitment to a new fund to support communities most affected by high migration. But we urge that the fund is directed to help relieve pressures on local authorities and public services – and not just used to fund further enforcement efforts."

Notes to Editors

The latest migration statistics are available from: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/migration1/migration-statistics-quarterly-report/may-2015/stb-msqr-may-2015.html

IPPR's report – A fair deal on migration to for the UK – is available from: http://www.ippr.org/publications/a-fair-deal-on-migration-for-the-uk

Contacts

Richard Darlington, 07525 481 602, r.darlington@ippr.org

Sofie Jenkinson, 07981 023 031, s.jenkinson@ippr.org