UK immigration figures ‘A Guess’-Report

The UK Public Administration Select Committee report further maintains that the figures for the UK immigration are simply fit for the purpose.

No record of UK immigration levels—It would be harrowing to know despite reiterated pledge by the UK government to control migration levels, the progress at limiting net UK migration is nothing but a best guess. That’s because the UK immigration figures might have been off by as much as tens of thousands, the report seems to inform. The UK immigration figures can best be described as nothing but a wild guess and are unreliable, the report adds.

UK immigration figures might be out by tens of thousands, reveals a latest report by the UK Public Administration Select Committee. So, the government of the UK must aim for 50,000 if it really seeks to bring down UK immigration down to 100,000 by the year 2015.

As per the chairman of the Public Administration Select Committee Bernard Jenkin, the estimates by the UK government are based on the random interviews of immigrants at various ports of entry. Immigration to the UK was roughly estimated to be around 515,000 and the emigration figures were around 352,000 till June last year.

UK Home Office disagrees—The UK Home Office, meanwhile, on the other hand, does not agree with the report findings about the UK immigration figures. It clearly states that the plans for reducing UK immigration levels down to ‘tens of thousands’ are working. Speaking about the issue in detail, the official spokesperson for the UK Home Office stated that the UK net migration happens to be at lowest level for almost a decade. So, we do not agree with the findings of the report, the official further maintained.

What needs to be done?– So, the suggestions by the committee say if the UK Home Office as well as the ONS(Office for National Statistics) makes a proper record and links the immigration data gathered by them, then UK immigration figures might be controlled significantly. MPs suggested using e-Borders system for tracking UK immigration.

But it may be mentioned that the e-Borders system that tracks basic travel document information on the basis of identity of travelers through the UK ports happens to be a minimum of five years off, the chairman of the committee said.

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