SCOTLAND’s economy and public services are being put at risk by the Tory government, the SNP has said, after new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that EU immigration has fallen to its lowest level since 2013.
The number of EU citizens arriving into the UK has continued to fall since 2016, mainly because there has been a drop in people coming to the country for work, the ONS said yesterday.
In the year ending March 2019, EU immigration was estimated to be 200,000, the lowest since the year ending June 2013 when it was an estimated 183,000.
The figures are classed as “experimental” estimates after the ONS admitted it had been underestimating some EU net migration data since 2016. As a result, due to concerns over accuracy, it has been forced to downgrade the status of its immigration data from “national statistics” – which require a high degree of reliability – to “experimental”.
Earlier this year, the Expert Advisory Group on Migration and Population warned that UK Government immigration plans could reduce the number of workers in Scotland by up to 5% over the next 20 years, jeopardising our economy, public services and future population growth.
SNP immigration spokesperson at Westminster, Stuart McDonald, said: “The Tory government is threatening Scotland’s economy and public services with its extreme Brexit and hostile migration policies, which it knows will leave Scotland poorer and worse off. Immigration is an economic necessity for Scotland – bringing huge benefits for everyone who lives here and contributing to the success of our NHS, public services and finances.
“By cutting off this much-needed migration, the UK government risks sending Scotland’s working age population into decline, harming our public finances, and causing staffing shortages in key services and sectors across the economy.
“Yet again, Scotland is being completely ignored by Westminster and our interests are being sidelined. It is increasingly clear that the only way to properly protect Scotland’s interests is to become an equal and independent European country.”
Immigration expert Madeleine Sumption said the figures showed the UK continues to be a “less attractive destination for EU citizens than it was before the referendum vote”.
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