HC Deb 09 February 2004 vol 417 cc1257-8W
Bob Spink

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what research he has based his estimates of the likely levels of immigration from Eastern European countries after accession to the EU in May. [153096]

Beverley Hughes

The Home Office commissioned research by University College London to look at the impact of EU accession (published in 2003 and available on the Home Office website (RDS On-line Report 25/03). In this report the authors reviewed the literature on potential migration flows following enlargement, analysed the experience of previous enlargements and developed their own model to estimate net migration from the new member states to the UK. This research was peer reviewed by scientific experts in the field.

The findings were broadly in line with previous research, in particular, reports by the European Commission in 2000 ("European Commission information note on free movement in the context of workers") and the former Department for Education and Employment in 1999 ("Assessment of possible migration pressure and its labour market impact following EU enlargement to Central and Eastern Europe").