Net migration to UK hit record 745,000 in 2022,
revised figures show
Office for National Statistics raises previous figure
by 140,000 and gives estimate for year to June of 672,000
Patrick
Butler and Peter Walker
Thu 23 Nov
2023 17.29 CET
Net
migration boosted the UK population by a record 745,000 in the year to December
2022, fuelled in part by a surge in overseas professionals arriving to work in
the NHS and care homes and prompting a furious response from rightwing
Conservatives.
Amid signs
No 10 might consider tightening guidelines on what has become a totemic issue
for some Tory MPs, one group of backbenchers said a failure to deliver on the
manifesto pledge to reduce net migration could prove “existential” for the
party.
Labour
accused the government of “utter failure” over its stewardship of immigration
and the economy, as figures showed a record numbers of asylum seekers in hotels
and big increases in visas being issued to skilled workers.
The Office
for National Statistics (ONS) said the 745,000 figure for the year to December
2022 replaced a previous estimate of 606,000 after revisions were made to
reflect “unexpected patterns” in migrant behaviour.
ONS data
for the year to June 2023 shows a lower net migration figure of 672,000. Though
this was a year-on-year increase of 65,000 from the previous time period, it
has led to speculation that net migration may be on a downward trend, though
the ONS said it was too early to tell.
Separate
Home Office visa and asylum data showed there was little change in the total
number of people seeking asylum in the UK, at 76,000 for the year to the end of
September 2023. There were 56,042 people in hotel accommodation.
In the same
time period, 25,000 people reached the UK in small boats, compared with 33,000
in the previous period. There was a sharp fall in the numbers of Albanians
arriving in small boats – from 10,000 to 860 – though experts said it was
unclear what was driving this.
The
increase in net migration in the year to June 2023 – the number of people
immigrating minus the number emigrating – was driven by an increase in people
and their families arriving for work, notably in NHS and social care roles.
There were
322,000 work-related visas issued for this period, up from 198,000 in the year
to June 2022. Nearly two-thirds of work visas went to Indian, Nigerian and
Zimbabwean nationals, suggesting non-EU workers are replacing EU workers in
sectors of the economy that are struggling to recruit staff since Brexit.
Suella
Braverman, sacked last week as home secretary by Rishi Sunak, claimed the
figures were “a slap in the face to the British public” and said she had
unsuccessfully pushed for policies including a definitive cap on annual net
migration, a near-doubling of the minimum salary for non-health or care work,
and curbs on graduate and dependants’ visas.
The New
Conservatives, a group of rightwing backbenchers, called on the government to
come up with an immediate plan to reduce immigration numbers before the next
election.
“The word
‘existential’ has been used a lot in recent days but this really is do or die
for our party,” they said in a statement. “Each of us made a promise to the
electorate. We don’t believe that such promises can be ignored.”
A
spokesperson for the prime minister said: “We will look at increases or
decreases that we’ve seen and consider whether or not they’re appropriate, and
whether there is more to do to have a system that better suits the needs of the
British public. That’s something we’re looking at right now.”
Asked if
this could mean a cut in the number of visas for people working in health and
social care, he said: “I can’t get ahead of policy decisions. We need to strike
the right balance to ensure that people get the care they deserve, but equally
that the system is set up correctly so it is prioritising those who benefit the
UK.”
Ben
Brindle, a researcher at the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford,
said: “While humanitarian visas for Ukrainians and Hongkongers played a major
role in net migration last year, their numbers have fallen more recently. Work
and international study are now the leading factors contributing to net
migration we’re currently seeing.”
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