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BBC News
11 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Government accused of blaming record crossings on the weather
Good weather and the willingness of people smugglers to cram more people onto small boats have been highlighted by the government as factors driving the level of migrant Channel Home Office has released figures showing that the number of "red days" - when conditions are considered favourable for small boat crossings - peaked in figures also show a rise in "severely overcrowded boats" in the same Conservatives and Reform have accused the government of "blaming the weather" for the record crossings so far this year. The government has said it is working to fix "a broken asylum system" left by the Tories. Rising numbers The Home Office figures reveal there were 190 red days in the 12 months to April 2025 - an 80% increase on the previous year and the highest number since records days are defined as days which the Met Office has assessed as "likely" or "highly likely" to see small boat crossings, based on things like the height of waves, wind speed and rainfall. By publishing the red day figures, the first official release of this kind, the government is suggesting a link between good weather conditions and the level of migrant far this year, 14,812 people have arrived in small boats - up about 40% on the same period last year. Almost 1,200 people arrived on Saturday alone. BBC Verify asked Peter Walsh from the Migration Observatory, based at the University of Oxford, exactly what impact the weather has on Channel said it was a factor but other issues, such as the effectiveness of smuggling gangs and the number of people wanting to reach the UK are likely to be more important."A migrant's decision to come to the UK by small boat is important and life-changing for them: will they casually drop their plans and decide not to migrate because of a few consecutive days of bad weather? Or will they just wait until the next safe-weather day," he told BBC acknowledging that gangs have exploited periods of good weather to increase crossings, a Home Office spokesperson insisted the government is "restoring grip to the broken asylum system it inherited"."That's why we are giving counter-terror style powers to law enforcement, launching an unprecedented international crackdown on immigration crime and have prevented 9,000 crossings from the French coastline this year alone", the spokesperson said. Responding to the red day figures, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp, said:"Blaming the weather for the highest ever crossing numbers so far this year is the border security equivalent of a lazy student claiming 'the dog ate my homework'."Reform MP Lee Anderson said: "This Labour government blaming small boat crossings on the weather is like blaming the housing crisis on homebuilders - it's pathetic." More people per boat The figures also show a rise in what the Home Office has called "severely overcrowded small boats".In the year to April 2025, there were 33 boats which carried 80 or more people on year before, there were only 11 boats with 80 or more people and there was just one of these boats recorded in the year to April 2023. While the number of people per boat has increased, the total number of boats has fallen from 1,116 in 2021–22 to 738 last year a record number of people died attempting to cross the channel in small boats, something which the Home Office attributes to "more people [being] crammed into flimsy and dangerous boats" by people smugglers. What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?
NDTV
23-05-2025
- Business
- NDTV
UK Net Migration Falls To Half In 2024, Compared To Previous Year
Quick Read Summary is AI generated, newsroom reviewed. UK net migration has dropped to 431,000, nearly half of 2024's figure, due to reduced non-EU immigration and increased emigration. This decline is linked to stricter visa rules. Concerns over migration are rising as it becomes a key electoral issue. The UK's net migration figures have seen a significant decline, dropping to 431,000, nearly half of the 860,000 recorded in the year to December 2024. This sharp decrease is attributed to reduced immigration from non-EU countries for work and study visas, as well as an increase in emigration from the UK. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), a large number of international students who originally came to the UK before the Covid-19 travel restrictions were eased have also left the country. The decline in net migration has been welcomed by the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, who stated that "the 300,000 drop in net migration since the election is important and welcome after the figures quadrupled to nearly a million in the last parliament." However, the former Conservative Home Secretary James Cleverly claimed that the drop is due to the visa rule changes he implemented, saying "this drop is because of the visa rule changes that I put in place." The restrictions introduced by the Conservative government, including a ban on foreign students and care workers bringing dependants with them to the UK, a doubling of the minimum salary threshold needed for work visas to £38,700, and an increase in the minimum income required for British residents to bring family members to join them to £29,000, have contributed to the decline. Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, noted that the record fall in net migration was made possible by unusually high migration after Brexit. "The record-breaking decline in net migration was possible primarily because numbers had previously been so high," Sumption said. "UK migration patterns in 2023 were very unusual, with unexpectedly large numbers of visas for care workers, international students, and their family members. This made it easier for the government at that time to bring down the numbers." Sumption also predicted that the economic impact of the decline would be negligible, stating that "the economic impact of this decline is actually likely to be relatively small." The issue of net migration has become an important electoral battleground, with concerns among voters about the NHS, housing, and the small boats crisis in the Channel. Labour has hardened its position on immigration, with Keir Starmer pledging to reduce net migration before the next election. However, Starmer's comments about the UK risking becoming an "island of strangers" without tough new policies have been criticised by some politicians, who drew comparisons to Enoch Powell's notorious "rivers of blood" speech.
Epoch Times
23-05-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
Net Migration Halves in a Year, But Still Far Higher Than Pre-Pandemic: ONS
Net migration nearly halved in the course of one year, but still remains far higher than in the previous years before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). In the year to December 2024, the difference between the number of people moving to the UK and leaving was an estimated 431,000, down 49.9 percent from 860,000 the year before, the largest numerical drop in any 12-month period. The ONS's director of population statistics, Mary Gregory, said on Thursday that the decline was largely driven by a falling number of immigrants coming to the UK to work and study, 'particularly student dependants.' This followed policy change from early 2024 by the previous Conservative government, which put in place Long-Term Immigration Falls The ONS said that the largest drop in immigration was from non-EU nationals coming here to work, falling 108,000, or 49 percent. Immigration for study purposes declined by 17 percent. Long-term immigration also fell to 948,000, down 28.5 percent from 1,326,000 in the previous year, the first time in three years the figure was below 1 million. Emigration also rose by around 11 percent to an estimated 517,000, up from 466,000 on the previous year. Gregory said that was especially owing to 'people leaving who originally came on study visas once pandemic travel restrictions to the UK were eased.' Related Stories 5/12/2025 5/14/2025 The impact of Conservative policy on dependant visas saw an 86 percent (105,000) reduction in study dependants, and a 35 percent (81,000) decrease in the number of work dependants. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said that the fall in net migration is 'welcome after the figures quadrupled to nearly a million in the last parliament.' 'Our Immigration White Paper sets out radical reforms to further reduce net migration,' she added. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp He added that the figures were 'still far too high and need to go down a lot further.' Higher Than Pre-Pandemic Levels While these figures are a dramatic decline on 2022 and 2023, they are still far higher than the pre-pandemic era, and well above the pre-Brexit peak of roughly 300,000. Net migration was broadly flat in the years leading up to the lockdown, standing at 208,000 in 2017, 276,000 in 2018, and 184,000 in 2019. They then fell sharply in 2020 to 93,000, when travel restrictions were put in place. Net migration then rose to 484,000 in 2021, 873,000 in 2022, and dropped slightly to 860,000 in 2023. Estimated net migration to the UK. PA Media The Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford noted that this 'recording-breaking decline' was possible 'primarily because numbers had previously been so high.' 'The declines reflect a period of policy liberalisation post-Brexit which saw net migration reach a record 906,000 in the year to June 2023, followed by restrictions in early 2024, both under the previous government,' the Migration Observatory said. For scale of how large a number current net migration figures still are, political commentator Matt Goodwin Migration Observatory researcher Ben Brindle said that net migration figures will continue to fall, as the previous government's restrictions 'are not yet fully visible in the data.' 'Last week's policy proposals should reduce migration further, though by a small amount. Because these declines will not necessarily take us to particularly low levels, by historical standards,' he added. 'Relatively Small' Economic Impact The Labour government has maintained the previous administration's visa rules, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announcing further measures to bring down legal immigration in the White Paper These include ending the recruitment of overseas care workers, raising the skills requirements for visas to degree level, and charging universities a levy on international students. Migration Observatory Director Madeleine Sumption said the economic impact of this fall in migrant workers is 'actually likely to be relatively small.' She added, 'That's because the groups that have driven the decline, such as study and work dependants, are neither the highest skilled, highest-paid migrants who make substantial contributions to tax revenues, nor the most disadvantaged groups that require substantial support.' Similarly, Downing Street indicated that it was not concerned that a fall in migrant workers would lead to a workforce shortage. The prime minister's official spokesman said, 'We are, for the first time, setting out a strategy to properly bring together a domestic skills strategy together with an immigration strategy.' 'So we will be reducing our reliance on overseas labour by training up our domestic workforce and ensuring, as the public rightly expects, that our border system is secure,' he added. PA Media contributed to this report.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Restrictive immigration approach by Labour government builds on Conservative rollbacks
The government is planning a range of measures designed to restrict immigration to the UK, which will likely further reduce net migration - but without further details the impact is unclear. Among the measures in the white paper are changes to the types and numbers of work visas issued to foreign workers, including scrapping social care visas altogether. Announcing the policy proposals, the prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said he would get net migration "down by the end of this parliament", but would not be drawn on a specific number or yearly targets. Politics latest: Net migration - the difference between the number of people arriving (immigration) and leaving (emigration) - was already on track to fall from unusually high levels seen since Brexit, when rules for non-EU migrants were relaxed, according to the Migration Observatory research institute at the University of Oxford. It says Monday's announcement is more of a continuation of rollbacks that began under the previous Conservative government, which combined with new measures just unveiled could ultimately leave the system looking more similar to pre-Brexit rules for non-EU citizens. Georgina Sturge, data consultant at the Migration Observatory, said: "These measures look likely to bring net migration down further if they work as intended, although a lot will depend on precisely how the measures are implemented." The number of work visas, including in social care, had already significantly declined before Monday's announcement. This is largely due to rule changes under the previous government preventing some workers bringing family members to the UK. There were around 370,000 work visas issued in 2024, a 40% drop compared to 2023, when around 614,000 were issued - the highest number on record. When these latest statistics were released, Sir Keir Starmer's government was keen to take credit for overseeing a fall in immigration. But, in reality, most of the drop was driven by changes earlier in the year under Rishi Sunak's government, which themselves were an attempt to undo large immigration rises during Boris Johnson's leadership. Read more:What are Starmer's new immigration rules?Restricting staffing during shortage has care sector worried Of the 278,000 visas issued to dependants of the main applicant in 2023, nearly three quarters of those were in the health and care worker category. As rule changes came into effect in early 2024, limiting health and care dependants, both the number of main applicants as well as the number of dependants decreased by more than half, while visas for other workers remained fairly stable. Still, there may be advantages to the announcement to entirely close the route, which has been plagued with issues including worker exploitation. "In terms of numbers, a lot of that decrease has already happened. But what's really important to consider here is that there have been significant issues with the care route beyond just the numbers," Mihnea Cuibis, researcher at the Migration Observatory, told Sky News. "We have had very numerous reports of exploitation of migrants and have seen the Home Office struggle to manage this route. So one advantage to the Home Office is that it will close down a route that has been problematic." It may also be positive for those care workers who have already emigrated to the UK, but found the job they came for was non-existent or not as advertised, he added. The care sector can continue to hire from this pool of workers until 2027. Recruitment issues in the care sector have persisted in spite of large levels of international recruitment. The latest data from industry body Skills for Care on the care workforce in England showed that recruitment had improved in recent years - though as this data is on a lag it does not show the impact of recent rule tightening from 2024 onwards. In spite of an increased number of 'filled posts', the number of vacancies remains higher than in 2020, as demand for carers has continued to rise. "For the care sector, of course, there's continuing issues around recruitment, mostly because of problems with pay and conditions. And these restrictions that are introduced are not going to affect that," Mr Cuibis explained. The government has also hinted at exemptions for other sectors, including in construction, where international recruitment could contribute to growth targets. Significant workforce shortages will need to be overcome if the government is to meet its housebuilding targets, with around 240,000 recruits needed across the sector by 2027, including 20,000 bricklayers, 20,000 ground workers, and 2,400 electricians, according to a recent report from the Home Builders Federation. In 2024, only 11,000 construction worker visas were issued, hardly close to the number needed to fill workforce gaps. But again, this is an area where the government says it wants to see an increase in homegrown skills and training. Mr Cuibis added that many questions around how the new system will operate remain unanswered, and that the "devil will be in the details". The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.
Sky News
12-05-2025
- Business
- Sky News
Restrictive immigration approach by Labour government builds on Conservative rollbacks
The government is planning a range of measures designed to restrict immigration to the UK, which will likely further reduce net migration, but without further details, the impact is unclear. Among the measures in the white paper are changes to the types and numbers of work visas issued to foreign workers - including scrapping social care visas altogether. Announcing the policy proposals, the prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said he would get net migration "down by the end of this parliament", but would not be drawn on a specific number or yearly targets. Net migration - the difference between the number of people arriving (immigration) and leaving (emigration) - was already on track to fall from unusually high levels seen since Brexit, when rules for non-EU migrants were relaxed, according to the Migration Observatory research institute at the University of Oxford. It says Monday's announcements are more of a continuation of rollbacks that began under the previous Conservative government, which combined with new measures just unveiled could ultimately leave the system looking more similar to pre-Brexit rules for non-EU citizens. Georgina Sturge, data consultant at the Migration Observatory, said: "These measures look likely to bring net migration down further if they work as intended, although a lot will depend on precisely how the measures are implemented." The number of work visas, including in social care, had already significantly declined before Monday's announcements. This is largely due to rule changes under the previous government preventing some workers bringing family members to the UK. There were around 370,000 work visas issued in 2024, a 40% drop compared to 2023, when around 614,000 were issued - the highest number on record. When these latest statistics were released, Sir Keir Starmer's government was keen to take credit for overseeing a fall in immigration. But, in reality, most of the drop was driven by changes earlier in the year under Rishi Sunak's government, which themselves were an attempt to undo large immigration rises during Boris Johnson's leadership. Of the 278,000 visas issued to dependants of the main applicant in 2023, nearly three quarters of those were in the health and care worker category. As rule changes came into effect in early 2024, limiting health and care dependants, both the number of main applicants as well as the number of dependants decreased by more than half, while visas for other workers remained fairly stable. Still, there may still be advantages to the announcement to entirely close the route, which has been plagued with issues including worker exploitation. "In terms of numbers, a lot of that decrease has already happened. But what's really important to consider here is that there have been significant issues with the care route beyond just the numbers," Mihnea Cuibis, researcher at the Migration Observatory, told Sky News. "We have had very numerous reports of exploitation of migrants and have seen the Home Office struggle to manage this route. So one advantage to the Home Office is that it will close down a route that has been problematic." It may also be positive for those care workers who have already emigrated to the UK, but found the job they came for was non-existent or not as advertised, he added. The care sector can continue to hire from this pool of workers until 2027. Recruitment issues in the care sector have persisted in spite of large levels of international recruitment. The latest data from industry body Skills for Care on the care workforce in England showed that recruitment had improved in recent years - though as this data is on a lag it does not show the impact of recent rule tightening from 2024 onwards. In spite of an increased number of 'filled posts', the number of vacancies remains higher than in 2020, as demand for carers has continued to rise. "For the care sector, of course, there's continuing issues around recruitment, mostly because of problems with pay and conditions. And these restrictions that are introduced are not going to affect that," Mr Cuibis explained. The government has also hinted at exemptions for other sectors, including in construction, where international recruitment could contribute to growth targets. Significant workforce shortages will need to be overcome if the government is to meet its housebuilding targets, with around 240,000 recruits needed across the sector by 2027, including 20,000 bricklayers, 20,000 ground workers, and 2,400 electricians, according to a recent report from the Home Builders Federation. In 2024, only 11,000 construction worker visas were issued, hardly close to the number needed to fill workforce gaps. But again, this is an area where the government says it wants to see an increase in homegrown skills and training. Mr Cuibis added that many questions around how the new system will operate remain unanswered, and that the "devil will be in the details". The Data and Forensics
