Working in Europe for Everyone in Yorkshire and the Humber

EU Immigration: What is happening?

Please note that the statistics given here were accurate as of August 2006. More up to date information may be available from the Home Office here.

Two years ago, when the EU expanded from 15 countries to 25, our government decided to allow people from the new Eastern European member states to come and work in Britain freely. Some comments in the press then and since, seem to suggest that whole Eastern European towns have been deserted by the Poles, Slovaks, Lithuanians and Estonians now scrounging benefits and living in council housing in British towns!

Official figures paint a very different perspective: Eastern European immigrants are coming to the UK in bigger than expected numbers, but almost all are working hard for little more than the minimum wage, contributing to the economy, and paying their taxes. Almost all have come without their families, and next to none are receiving financial support. Moreover, if they follow the same pattern as immigrants around the world, they will be adding to the flow of remittances from rich countries to poorer nations which (according to the IMF) already exceed the value of formal aid flows.

Within our lifetimes, the kind of freedom to travel we take for granted was utterly impossible for millions of people living in the Soviet Union. The value of freedom of movement may be more evident to some Eastern Europeans than it is to us, but we must surely bear that history in mind.

Of course, none of this is any consolation if you cannot find work in your own community whilst migrant workers can. We must not use immigration as a cheap substitute for helping the unemployed into jobs, boosting training opportunities and protecting wage agreements. In some areas, the arrival of migrant workers will mean new challenges for trade unions, adding to the pressures already faced by changing employment patterns whereby people move from job to job more frequently. So we should debate immigration. But it must be a debate based on facts, not hearsay, and defined by our vision of the kind of society we want to live in.

British Migration: things you might not know

In 2004, 582,000 people immigrated to the UK. 360,000 people emigrated overseas (source: ESRC). 117,000 EU citizens moved to the UK, whilst 43,000 Britons moved into other EU countries (source: Office for National Statistics).

According to UCL research from 2004, the UK has less foreign citizens as a percentage of the total population than 10 other Western European countries, including Switzerland, Ireland and Greece.

40,625 people applied for asylum in the UK in 2004, 32% less than the previous year. The top three applicant nationalities were: Iran, Somalia and China.

According to a poll commissioned by Barclay's Bank, 37% of Britons are considering buying a home overseas in the future.

Up to a million Britons are believed to own property in Spain and 500,000 in France, whilst at least 19,000 Britons are permanently resident in Italy.

Immigration from Eastern Europe: The Facts

On 1st May 2004, the EU expanded from 15 nations to 25. The ten new 'accession' countries were: Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. Only Britain, Sweden and Ireland agreed to give workers from these new countries the right to move to work immediately in the same way that, for example, French or Spanish workers can. Five other countries are now lifting their restrictions. Immigrants from eight of the accession countries who wish to work in Britain must apply for a place on the Worker Registration Scheme (WRS), at a cost of £50. We call these countries the 'A8'. Cypriot and Maltese nationals are not subject to this requirement. Under the terms of the accession agreements, the 'old' 15 countries have until 2011 to grant the right to work to immigrants from the new accession nations.

It should be remembered that self-employed people, students, or people able to support themselves without resorting to benefits are not included in WRS statistics.

So, based on government statistics, what do we know?

Between 1st May 2004 and 30th June 2006, 447,000 people registered on the Worker Registration Scheme, coming from the A8 countries and becoming eligible to work in the UK. The Home Office suggests this figure would rise to nearly 600,000 people if the self-employed were included.
During their time in the UK, 97% of these WRS registered workers were working more than 16 hours a week.
The vast majority (78%) of registered workers were earning between £4.50 and £5.99 an hour.
The top five jobs for these workers were: Process Operative (or other factory worker), Warehouse Operative, Packer, Kitchen or Catering Assistant, Cleaner or Domestic Staff.
93% of registered workers brought no dependents with them to the UK.
5,943 applications were made by A8 nationals for Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance and Pension Credit between May 2004 and June 2006. Of these, only 768 were allowed to proceed "for further consideration" or appeal. Most were ruled out because they failed the habitual residency test.
Between May 2004 and March 2006, 110 local authority homes were let to A8 nationals - just 0.04% of the average number of lettings to all new tenants over a typical 23 month period.