UK criticised over migration figures

The UK government, which aims to cut net migration to tens of thousands from hundreds of thousands by 2015, on Sunday was severely criticised by British MPs over lack of accuracy of migration figures.

The migration estimates, based on the International Passenger Survey of around 5,000 migrants per year are too uncertain for accurate measurement of progress against the ToryLibDem coalition government’s net migration target, according to the House of Commons public administration select committee’s report on migration statistics released on Sunday.

The MPs criticised the government saying that analysis on how many nonUK residents are entering and leaving the country is primarily based on “random interviews” of travellers at ports and airports that were introduced to examine tourism trends.

In the year to June 2012, immigration was estimated at 515,000 while emigration was estimated at 352,000. The report warned the UK government is at risk of ending up with an “inappropriate” immigration policy if it bases its target level of net migration on such an uncertain statistics. “Most people would be utterly astonished to learn that there is no attempt to count people as they enter or leave the UK. They are amazed when they are told that government merely estimates that there are 500,000 immigrants coming into the UK each year,” committee chairman, Tory MP Bernard Jenkin, said.

“This is based on random interviews of around 800,000 people stopped and interviewed at ports and airports each year. Only around 5,000 of those are actual migrants, many of whom may be reticent to give full and frank answers, to say the least.”

The contentious issue of immigration has already caused a rift between the British coalition partners, with Liberal Democrats accusing the Conservative Party led by PMDavid Cameron of creating a scare about illegal immigrants.