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Borders and Migration Bill threatens the UK’s economic recovery say ippr

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14 January 2009

Ahead of the government's Borders, Immigration and Citizenship Bill due to be published this Thursday, the UK's leading progressive think tank, the institute for public policy research (ippr), says proposals to make it more difficult for migrants to gain British citizenship could have damaging consequences for the UK’s economic recovery.

Ippr says the government must to use this bill to recognise that migrants are crucial to our economy both now and beyond the recession. It warns that if the bill goes forward in its current form the UK will lose out to other countries competing to attract migrants.

Tim Finch, Head of ippr's Migration Team, said:

“Migrants become easy targets at times of economic difficulty but introducing yet more tough measures to exclude people could damage our prospects for economic recovery.

“As it stands, the Borders, Immigration and Citizenship Bill could deter migrants who are in high demand and who are essential for our economy.

“Not all migrants will want to settle in the UK, but some will and so it’s important that the over-complicated process of “earned citizenship” is made more clear and fair.”

Ippr says that introducing measures which will make Britain less attractive to those migrants that the economy needs is counter-productive and unnecessary – as evidence suggests that migration ebbs and flows over time. Immigration boomed when the economy was booming and is likely to slow naturally as the economy slows.

Even during a prolonged economic downturn, the UK will continue to need new migrants, to bring specialised skills, or to work in jobs that employers are unable to fill with British workers. The Migration Advisory Committee has already identified many jobs facing skills shortages, including senior care workers, and maths and science teachers. Ippr's own research into the construction sector suggests that employers will still struggle to fill some skilled construction jobs, even in a recession.

Ippr says that the bill's current proposals overcomplicate the process of “earned citizenship” and are unclear as to what migrants will be required to do to “earn” citizenship during their so-called “probationary period”. The bills also raises issues of fairness and transparency particularly with regard to long term restrictions on migrants’ being able to access benefits and social housing.

Ippr say that the bill needs to address the following issues:

Flexibility: The proposals on so-called “earned citizenship”, along with the new tighter points-based system of managed migration, must be sufficiently flexible to ensure that the UK’s long-term economic need for migrants is met.
Clarity: It is unclear what migrants will be required to do to “earn” citizenship during the so called “probationary period”. To ensure the system is transparent and fair it needs to be clear what contributions to British life are to be considered, how they will be judged and by who.
Fairness: As-yet unspecified restrictions are proposed on migrants’ access to benefits and social housing. However, migrants who have not achieved full citizenship may still be contributing a great deal to the country, and may have raised their families here. Is it fair in these circumstances to deny them a welfare safety net if they fall on hard times?

Notes to editors

Key facts

Even before the economy started to falter, arrivals were down. Total immigrant arrivals were lower in 2007 than in 2006.
2008 figures are likely to be much lower. National insurance registrations for foreigners in the first half of 2008 were down by 13 per cent on first half of 2007.
The most up to date figures show a dramatic downturn in arrivals. Worker arrivals from the new EU member states fell by more than a third this summer (Q3 2008) compared to last (Q3 2007).
Historically, net immigration declines in times of recession. During previous recessions, more people actually left the UK than arrived.
Construction Skills estimated in September 2008 that the construction sector would need an additional 42,000 entrants annually in the next four years.
2008 saw a 23% rise in teaching vacancies in state schools, with more than 500 maths and science teaching jobs unfilled.

Contact

Kelly O’Sullivan, Media Officer, k.osullivan@ippr.org / 020 7470 6125 / 07753 719 289

Catherine Bithell, Director of Communications, c.bithell@ippr.org / 020 7470 6106 / 07815 536 824