This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk_politics/6913296.stm

The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 5 Version 6
713,000 new foreign workers in UK Foreign worker numbers in UK soar
(about 3 hours later)
The UK issued National Insurance numbers to 713,000 overseas nationals in the year to April 2007. Two and a half million foreigners have moved to the UK to work since 2002, National Insurance figures suggest.
That number - which includes those who may be in the UK for a short time - is more than twice the amount issued to non-UK nationals four years earlier. The numbers, which include those who may only have been in the UK for a short time, have been getting larger each year, reaching 713,000 last year.
The figures include self-employed people as well as the employed workers who are counted in other surveys. The Home Office stressed these were people coming to the UK to work, and said it now monitored social impact.
The number from new EU counties working in the UK for the first time rose to 321,000 from 277,000 a year earlier. But Damian Green, for the Tories, said the "huge" and "accelerating" figures were "extraordinary" and should be cut.
REGIONS WORKERS ARE FROM New EU countries: 321,00Asia & Mid-East: 145,000Old EU countries: 103,000Africa: 61,000Aus & Oceania: 33,000 The Americas: 32,000Non-EU Europe: 16,000 Source: DWP figures on those registering for a National Insurance number in year to April 2007REGIONS WORKERS ARE FROM New EU countries: 321,00Asia & Mid-East: 145,000Old EU countries: 103,000Africa: 61,000Aus & Oceania: 33,000 The Americas: 32,000Non-EU Europe: 16,000 Source: DWP figures on those registering for a National Insurance number in year to April 2007
Nearly a quarter of a million Polish people were given National Insurance number for the first time in 2006/7. The shadow immigration minister highlighted the 300,000 workers arriving in the UK from outside the EU, saying that number should be cut.
The Department for Work and Pensions figures show 583,000 of all the new National Insurance numbers were for people under the age of 35, with 35,000 more men than women. If not, he said: "The benefits of immigration will be lost among the social and economic difficulties caused by the sheer scale of the current numbers."
National Insurance numbers are needed by anyone of working age who wants to work legally in the UK. The figures do not include dependents such as children. Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Nick Clegg said the 16% increase in east European immigrants given National Insurance numbers "confirm that the numbers are considerably higher than the Government first estimated".
Soames warning He said the Government had "failed to plan adequately both in terms of housing and funding for local services".
It does not mean that there are now 713,000 more foreign workers in the UK than a year earlier, as the figures do not count those who leave the UK. Registration scheme
National Insurance numbers allocated to overseas nationals has increased from 349,000 in the year to April 2003. But, he said: "It should be remembered that people are only coming to Britain because they are successfully providing services and doing jobs available in the British economy to the benefit of British consumers."
In that year the largest place of origin for those workers - 114,000 - was Asia and the Middle East. National Insurance numbers are needed by anyone of working age who wants to work legally or claim benefits in the UK. The figures do not include dependents such as children.
The second largest source of new foreign workers were the 80,000 from the "old" European Union member countries. FOREIGNERS MOVING TO UK 2002/3: 349,0002003/4: 370,0002004/5: 439,0002005/6: 662,0002006/7: 713,000TOTAL: 2,533,000 Source: DWP figures on NI numbers given to foreign nationals each year
The expansion of the EU has been the biggest reason for the increase - 222,000 Polish people were given National Insurance numbers for the first time in 2006/7, bringing the total to 466,000 in the past four years.
That is higher than previous Home Office figures based on the workers registration scheme, which does not include the self-employed.
The National Insurance figures, released by the Department for Work and Pensions, show the vast majority of people coming to the UK to work from across the world are under the age of 35 and 54% were men.
Analysis of the previous year's figure shows that about 16,000 of the foreign workers were claiming out-of-work benefits within six months of getting a National Insurance number.
'Introducing quotes'
The figures for the latest year shows a more than doubling since the 349,000 National Insurance numbers allocated to overseas nationals in the year to April 2003.
COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN: 2006/7 Poland: 222,000India: 49,000Slovak Repub: 28,000Pakistan: 25,000Australia: 24,000Lithuania: 24,000France: 20,000S.Africa: 16,000Germany 15,000China: 13,000 Source: DWP figures on NI numbers allocated in year to April 2007
In that year the largest place of origin for those workers - 114,000 - was Asia and the Middle East, followed by 80,000 from the "old" European Union member countries.
Although the influx of new EU nationals accounts for much of the rise, there has been a rise in numbers from all continents with the exception of Africa.
There are a variety of ways in which immigration is measured into the UK, although there is not one definitive one, and none include illegal immigrants.There are a variety of ways in which immigration is measured into the UK, although there is not one definitive one, and none include illegal immigrants.
Last week senior Conservative MP Nicholas Soames warned during a Commons debate of "profound changes" in British society and "dangerous shoals ahead" unless the UK cut immigration. 'Maintaining restrictions'
COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN Poland: 222,000India: 49,000Slovak Repub: 28,000Pakistan: 25,000Australia: 24,000Lithuania: 24,000France: 20,000S.Africa: 16,000Germany 15,000China: 13,000 Source: DWP figures on NI numbers allocated in year to April 2007 These figures do not mean there are now 713,000 more foreign workers in the UK than a year earlier, as the figures do not count those who leave the UK.
During that debate shadow immigration minister Damian Green said the Conservatives would set an annual limit on the number of immigrants, to fit the country's economic requirement. A Home Office spokesman said: "The number of National Insurance numbers issued to accession nationals is consistent with Home Office data and shows that people are coming here from the expanded EU to work.
Immigration minister Liam Byrne said world migration had increased hugely, and there were many other countries who have had higher levels of immigration than the UK. COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN: 2003/4 India: 31,000S.Africa: 18,000Australia: 17,000Pakistan: 17,000Portugal: 14,000China: 13,000France: 13,000Spain: 12,000Poland: 11,000Philippines: 10,000 Source: DWP figures on NI numbers allocated in year to April 2004
He said there was a "social impact" as well as an economic one and said the new points based work permit system being brought into force would limit immigration in line with economic need. "However, there are legitimate concerns about managing some of the effects of migration on communities. We are listening to these concerns.
All three main parties have rejected calls for an amnesty for the estimated 600,000 illegal immigrants in the UK, although in the debate the Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Nick Clegg said it was "fanciful" to believe they could be deported. "That is why we have taken a more gradual approach to opening our labour market to people from Bulgaria and Romania by maintaining restrictions and introducing quotas on low-skilled jobs."
Instead there should be a process by which they could work towards regularised status, he suggested. He added: "Last month we had the first meeting of the Migration Impacts Forum, set up to advise the Government what effect migration is having on local communities, particularly with regard to housing, education and crime levels."