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| New EU members add £5bn to UK says research | New EU members add £5bn to UK says research |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Immigrants from the 10 countries which joined the EU in 2004 contributed more to the UK than they took out in benefits, according to a new study. | Immigrants from the 10 countries which joined the EU in 2004 contributed more to the UK than they took out in benefits, according to a new study. |
| They added £4.96bn more in taxes in the years to 2011 than they took out in public services. | They added £4.96bn more in taxes in the years to 2011 than they took out in public services. |
| That is according to the calculations of the report by University College London's Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration. | That is according to the calculations of the report by University College London's Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration. |
| But the report was criticised for not painting a true picture. | |
| Sir Andrew Green, chairman of pressure group Migration Watch, criticised the selective use of dates, telling the BBC: "If you take all EU migration including those who arrived before 2001 what you find is this: you find by the end of the period they are making a negative contribution and increasingly so. | |
| "And the reason is that if you take a group of people while they're young fit and healthy they're not going to be very expensive but if you take them over a longer period they will be," he said. | |
| The analysis includes migrants' share of all public services costs. | The analysis includes migrants' share of all public services costs. |
| It includes costs that increase when the population increases, such as health and education, and those that stay fixed, such as the armed forces and defence. | It includes costs that increase when the population increases, such as health and education, and those that stay fixed, such as the armed forces and defence. |
| If the fixed costs are excluded, the net benefit of immigration from countries such as Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic would more than double to £10.5bn. | If the fixed costs are excluded, the net benefit of immigration from countries such as Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic would more than double to £10.5bn. |
| Professor Christian Dustmann, co-author of the study, said: "A key concern in the public debate on migration is whether immigrants contribute their fair share to the tax and welfare systems. | |
| "Our new analysis draws a positive picture of the overall fiscal contribution made by recent immigrant cohorts, particularly of immigrants arriving from the EU." | |
| He added: "European immigrants, particularly, both from the new accession countries and the rest of the European Union, make the most substantial contributions. | |
| Pressure on services | |
| "This is mainly down to their higher average labour market participation compared with natives and their lower receipt of welfare benefits." | |
| But Sir Andrew said: "This report confirms that immigration as a whole has cost up to £150bn in the last 17 years. | |
| "As for recent European migrants, even on their own figures - which we dispute - their contribution to the exchequer amounts to less than £1 a week per head of our population." | |
| He said that people in the UK had to decide whether the extra pressure on schools, maternity units, and other services were worth an extra £1 a week. | |
| The report will fuel the current political debate over immigration. | |
| Prime minister David Cameron has vowed to renegotiate the terms of the UKs membership of the EU, before holding a referendum in 2017 on whether to leave, if he is re-elected in six month's time. | |
| But the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has reportedly warned Mr Cameron that he was approaching the "point of no return" with proposals to restrict immigration. | |
| A spokesman for Mrs Merkel said this week that free movement of people in the EU was "not negotiable" for Germany. | |
| Are you an immigrant from one of the 10 countries which joined the EU in 2004? What is your reaction to the findings? You can share your experience and views by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk | |
| If you are willing to be contacted by a BBC journalist, please leave a contact number. | |
| Have your say |