§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigrants have entered the United Kingdom in the last 10 years; and if he will provide a breakdown of the ages and nationalities contained within this figure;
(2) how many people have emigrated from the United Kingdom in the last 10 years; and if he will provide a breakdown of the ages and nationalities contained with this figure.
558W
§ Mr. Charles WardleInformation on immigration and emigration from the United Kingdom is provided by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys from the international passenger survey, which defines a migrant as a person leaving one country where he or she has been a resident for a year or longer with the intention of residing in another country for a year or longer. In the 10 years 1983–92, the total numbers of intending immigrants and emigrants were 2.31 million and 2.09 million respectively. These figures include British citizens and other EC nationals, but exclude migration between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. Analyses of the annual data by broad nationality and by broad age group are given in tables 2.1 and 2.9 respectively of the OPCS publication "International Migration, 1992", a copy of which is in the Library of the House. Data for 1993 are not yet available.
As the IPS data are based on intentions to migrate, it is highly likely that they exclude persons seeking asylum after entering the country and other persons admitted as short-term visitors who are subsequently granted an extension of stay for a year or longer. It is estimated that there were around 200,000 such persons in 1983–92, net of persons leaving the United Kingdom for a short-term period who stayed overseas for longer than originally intended.
The OPCS data include temporary migration for a year or longer by, for example, students and workers. Home Office data on immigration relate to the number of persons accepted for settlement—that is, allowed to stay indefinitely. There were 514,000 such persons in the 10-year period 1984–93. Analyses by nationality of the annual data for 1984–92 and 1993 are given in table 6.5 of "Control of Immigration: Statistics, United Kingdom, 1992", Cm 2368, and table 1.1 of the statistical bulletin "Control of Immigration: Statistics—Third and Fourth Quarters and Year 1993", issue 9/94, respectively. An analysis by age of person is readily available only for 1992 and is given in table 6.2 of Cm 2368. Copies of both Home Office publications are also in the Library.