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London must share in economic benefits of short-term migration
London Councils has welcomed a new report from the Office for National Statistics which shows London is the temporary home for 40 per cent of all short-term migrants who move to England and Wales each year.
The report, published today, follows demands by councils for accurate data on local population figures which include information about people who move to the UK and live here for less than a year. These "short-term" migrants are not included in the ONS' national population estimates used by government to determine funding for local services.
London's significantly higher share of the country's temporary in-migrants means that it faces the most severe strains to its council run services from the ONS' statistical omission.
Short-term migrants use many of the same services as long-term residents, including social care, community safety and waste collection. But unless central government acknowledges that they should be counted as part of the capital's population, critical local services will be placed under even greater pressure.
This pressure is made even worse by the ONS' insistence that the growth rate of London's population is going down, flying in the face of the experience of front line service providers who have carried out more detailed research that shows more people live in their borough than the ONS predicts.
Chairman of London Councils, Councillor Merrick Cockell welcomed the ONS' move to start publishing details of short-term migration figures for the country and the capital. He said:
"This is an important step, however long-overdue, towards recognising the impact that short-term migration has on the capital following the accession of 10 countries to the EU in May 2004.
Free movement of people from Eastern Europe has benefited England's economy substantially, adding an extra £6 billion to the economy each year.
However, the government must now share these economic benefits with London's local councils. If not, they will put at risk the very services such as policing, street cleaning and social services care that makes the capital such a magnet for short-term migrants."
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