Immigrant stats out ‘by tens of thousands’
Targets ... Theresa May
Published: 9 hrs ago
IMMIGRATION stats could be out by tens of thousands because the system for counting migrants is “not fit for purpose”, according to a damning report from MPs.
Ministers have hailed falling overall immigration as a major Coalition success after latest figures showed a sharp decline.
Net migration — the number arriving minus those leaving — dropped by 89,000 to 153,000 in the year to September 2012, the lowest figure since December 2003 and a big step towards Home Secretary Theresa May’s target of cutting it to “tens of thousands”.
But a scathing report from the cross-party Public Administration Select Committee said this was “little better than a best guess” because people are not counted in and out of the country.
Instead, the numbers are based on “random interviews” of travellers at ports and airports — with Westminster Council leader Philippa Roe telling the committee that Disney World keeps better track of its visitors.
Chairman Bernard Jenkin suggested this was part of a deliberate cover-up by successive governments as he blasted the current system.
He said: “Most people would be utterly astonished to learn that there is no attempt to count people as they enter or leave the UK.
“As an island nation, with professional statisticians and effective border controls, we could gain decent estimates of who exactly is coming into this country, where they come from, and why they are coming here.”
And he added: “Some would say that successive governments have hardly been trying to fix this — they didn’t want people to know the truth. Even now, the really useful information from e-borders data is at least five years off.
“Given the importance of immigration as a potentially explosive issue, this ought to be given a much higher priority.”
But the Home Office hit back — insisting immigration IS falling.
A spokesman said: “We disagree with the report’s conclusions. Government reforms on immigration are working and the statistics do show that net migration is at its lowest level for a decade.”
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