§ Mr. Tom KingTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what inter-departmental machinery exists to ensure that estimates of future internal migration in the United Kingdom accurately reflect current forecasts of regional employment prospects; and if he will make a statement. [21780]
§ Mr. Geoffrey RobinsonThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the Chief Executive of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Tom King, dated 22 December 1997:
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply, as the Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), to your recent question on estimates of future internal migration.An inter-departmental National Population Projections Committee advises the Government Actuary's Department about migration flow assumptions between the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom when national population projections are prepared.When preparing sub-national population projections for England, the ONS consults local and health authorities (through the Department for Environment Transport and the Regions, and the Department of Health respectively) to prepare assumptions about future migration for local areas. The Welsh Office and General Register Office for Scotland consult their respective countries.For both national and sub-national projections, the migration assumptions for the future are based upon past trends. These will reflect past changes in employment prospects and other factors associated with migration. They will therefore not reflect policy based forecasts of regional employment.