EU Migrants 'Settling Across UK'
Wednesday 30 April
Eastern European nationals have settled more widely throughout the
The Institute for Public Policy Research examined their impact on the
It said even areas which had not traditionally attracted migrants, such as
Poles are now the largest foreign national group in the
They had been the 13th largest group in early 2004, the report said, but had replaced people born in
Regular visits home
The research, released to the BBC, looked at migrants who came from eight countries that joined the European Union in May 2004 -
It also included migrants from
The research by the IPPR, a Labour-leaning British think tank, estimated that about one million migrant workers had come to the
The IPPR also said post-enlargement migration was "very different" from previous migration to
"In contrast to previous migrants, it is financially and logistically possible for migrants from the new EU member states to come to the
The IPPR looked at the Labour Force Survey, national insurance number applications, the Workers Registration Scheme - applicants are required to register on the scheme as soon as they start working in the
It also surveyed Poles who had returned to their homeland after working in the
While the highest number of national insurance applications by migrants since 2004 was in
Poles 'everywhere'
"In 2007 Polish [national insurance number] recipients were registered in every local authority in
In the Highlands,
The IPPR estimated there were between 10 and 29 Eastern European workers per 1,000 local residents in those Scottish areas.
Parts of
But when it came to reasons for coming or going, the report said "the vast majority of Polish migrants come to the
Other findings included:
· Three-quarters of all nationals from the 10 countries resident in the
· At 84%, the employment rate among post-enlargement migrants is among the highest of all immigrant groups, and is nine percentage points higher than the UK-born average
· Very few post-enlargement migrants claim state benefits (only 2.4% of those registering for National Insurance numbers between May 2004 and December 2007 did so in order to claim benefits)
· East European migrants work on average four hours longer per week than UK-born workers (46 hours compared with 42 hours)
Accession has also had an impact at the pub - before 2004, Polish beers were not widely available in the
Now some 44 million pints of Lech and
According to the research, there were 665,000 nationals from all 10 countries living in the
This was an increase of 548,000 since the first quarter of 2004, just prior to the first eight countries joining the EU.
The government had underestimated the number of migrants post-expansion, saying that between 5,000 and 13,000 would arrive after 2004.
By 2006, Home Office minister Tony McNulty admitted that the government was "in the dark" over arrivals - in fact 293,000 immigrants had applied for work permits in the first 18 months.
The IPPR, established in 1988, says it aims to promote social justice, democratic participation and sustainability in government policy through its research and analysis.
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