Britain makes net gain from immigration, TUC study finds

21 Jun 07
Migrant workers contribute more to the British economy than the costs of the public services they receive, according to a study by the Trades Union Congress.

22 June 2007

Migrant workers contribute more to the British economy than the costs of the public services they receive, according to a study by the Trades Union Congress.

The TUC said its Economics of migration report, published on June 19, dispelled the myth that immigrants were a drain on health, education and housing.

The union body endorses Home Office statistics, which show that, using 1999/2000 data, immigrants paid £31.2bn in taxes and received £28.8bn in public goods and services.

Critics of the UK's immigration policy have suggested that the recent influx of workers from eastern Europe might have tipped the balance. But the TUC also endorsed an updated study by the Institute for Public Policy Research, using data up to 2003/04, which similarly concludes that the net contribution from immigration is positive.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: 'Immigrants pay more in taxes than the value of the public services they receive; equivalent to 1p on the basic rate of income tax.'

However, the TUC study states that the impact of migration on local authorities can be significant when Whitehall or Office for National Statistics predictions for immigration prove incorrect.

'Revenue grants from central government [to local authorities] are in part determined by estimates of how many migrant workers live there now and projections of how many there are going to be. If the estimates are wrong, there can be severe pressures on housing, schools and other services,' it states.

Barber told Public Finance: 'The answer is to improve the statistics, not to blame migrant workers.'

PFjun2007

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