UK not prepared for increase in net migration figures

The publication of the UK net migration figures has shocked the nation. The Office of National Statistics estimates the total long-term immigration at 1.2 million for 2022, while emigration was at 557,000. This means migration continues to add to the population with net migration at a record 606,000; most people arriving in the UK in 2022 were non-EU nationals (925,000), followed by EU residents (151,000) and then British (88,000). Conservative manifestos from David Cameron’s time have pledged to bring down both net migration and illegal immigration, but consecutive Home Ministers since 2015 have struggled to achieve this. Between the end of 2022 and March 2013, 45,000 people were detected arriving by small boats, over 50% of whom were Albanians and Afghans.This week’s figures include international students, who are only temporary, and their number may be removed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. In 2022, 361,000 people arrived on study-related visas, an increase mainly attributed to dependents (up from 41,000 in 2021 to 85,000 in 2022). A Home Office study suggests this is driven by an increase in the number of visas granted to dependents from Nigeria and India, but numbers also include asylum seekers and those arriving from Hong Kong and Ukraine for humanitarian reasons.
Indian national study visa holders had the second highest number of dependents, increasing from 3,135 to 38,990. Visa grants to dependents, by nationality, saw Indian nationals increase in the proportion of dependents, from 8% to 22%. There were 139,539 sponsored study visa grants to Indian nationals in 2022, an increase of 105,278 (+307%) compared to 2019 (34,261). Chinese nationals were the second most common nationality granted sponsored study visas in 2022, with 102,842 visa grants. Chinese and Indian nationals together comprise half (50%) of all sponsored study grants.
These figures are concerning because the UK’s infrastructure is not developed to cope with the numbers and the strain on public services such as the NHS, housing and schools is unprecedented, yet universities are competing to try and attract overseas students, even offering places without English language official proficiency credentials such as ILEX or IELTS. No figures are available for how many applications have been made to the HMRC for new National Insurance Numbers, known as a NINos, a unique personal reference number that links the individual with their records of national insurance contributions, social security benefits, tax payments, and student loans.
Unusually, Indians are also featuring in illegal migration numbers from across the Channel. It seems the gig economy is attracting economic migrants from Punjab, who come to Britain via Serbia. Opposition parties are having a field day, but the Tories say they can course correct. In 2021, UK and India signed a landmark agreement allowing young British and Indian nationals to work and live in each other’s countries and accelerate the removal of illegal migrants. The agreement, signed by Priti Patel and Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, delivers on the UK government’s fair but firm New Plan for Immigration–attracting the best and brightest, and supporting people coming to the UK through legal routes, while stopping the abuse of the system and speeding up the removal of those who have no right to be in the UK.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has also caused consternation among the population. First, he said food price inflation was worryingly high, and he was“looking at why prices are as high as they are.” He seemed to suggest that big companies might not be passing on tax breaks or price cuts to consumers, and met with food manufacturers and the Competition and Markets Authority to find out. Then, inflation–still at 8.7%–did not drop as much as the Bank of England predicted, but Jeremy Hunt wants to support the BoE even if it means Britain experiences a recession to bring down inflation, “because in the end the inflation is a source of instability.”
On the bright side, it is being reported that the Indian-owned Jaguar Land Rover parent company, Tata, has chosen the UK over Spain for its new EV battery gigafactory. Tata Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran is to meet Rishi Sunak at Downing Street this week to agree on incentives for development in the Gravity Business Park near Bridgewater, Somerset, believed to involve half a billion pounds worth of public support and possibly create up to 40,000 direct and indirect jobs.