When statistics matter

Conservative UK daily, the Telegraph, is reporting that official government immigration statistics are flawed and that UK councils are complaining:

“The leaders of Slough, Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, and Hammersmith and Fulham say a new method of calculating immigration, introduced last month, does not “remotely” represent the true picture. The new figures suggest London is losing some 60,000 migrants to other parts of the country every month.

The ONS has reduced its estimate of London's population from 7,517,700 to 7,457,400. But councils say the actual population is nearer to 7,600,000.

Previously the figures were calculated by asking migrants travelling into London where they intended to work. The new system uses a Labour Force Survey covering just 0.2 per cent of the population, together with a passenger survey asking migrants where they are actually working. The figures do not take into account those who have lived in London for less than a year or those living in hostels.”

Councilors feel that a shift in figures means that they do not have sufficient funds to address migrant needs and integration issues. The BBC offers a closer look in this piece (Video download).

Liam Byrne, Minister for Immigration and Asylum in the Home Office underscored his willingness to address the issue with Council representatives, but hastened to add that immigrants were a benefit to society in the UK:

“Liam Byrne, the Home Office minister, said immigrants were contributing half a billion pounds every working day to the economy, a figure later repeated by Downing Street.

This would amount to £125 billion a year – equivalent to 10 per cent of total GDP.”

In an interview with the BBC he passed the buck right back to the complaining councilors, saying that other areas knew full well how best to address the issue and that councils had to learn from one another through constructive dialogue.

Skewed figures will undoubtedly have an impact on the comprehensive measures council's plan toward the integration of migrants. The statistics issue must be resolved immediately before embracing Mr. Byrne's ideas of an exchange of best practice methods among local government officials.