ONS may have underestimated EU migration to the UK
More people may have entered the UK between 2000 and 2016 than previously thought, it was revealed today, as the Office for National Statistics admitted its net migration figures were flawed.
Net EU migration in the year ending March 2016 would be 16 per cent higher under new measurements, announced today, the ONS said. However, the rise is largely counterbalanced as the ONS said it might have over-estimated the number of non-Europeans entering the country.
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It is set to reclassify its migration data as “experimental statistics” meaning it is still reviewing the new methods.
The new adjusted figures push up net migration figures from around the world by around one per cent.
The revised data shows that 296,000 EU citizens entered Britain in 2015-16, the last year on record, compared to 267,000 in past estimates. Meanwhile 89,000 Europeans left.
Meanwhile the revisions mean 288,000 people came to the UK from outside the EU, and 95,000 left in the year ending March 2016. The 13 per cent drop is largely put down to Asian students, who stayed for less time than they said they would in surveys.
“We have sought to re-classify our migration statistics as ‘experimental statistics’ in line with Office for Statistics Regulation guidance,” the ONS said in a statement.
The change in European statistics is mainly down to a difference in central and eastern European migration, the ONS said.
Migrants from eight European countries who joined the EU in 2004 are more unsure how long they will stay in the UK, making the statistics less reliable.
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The ONS measures entrants to the country through the International Passenger Survey, which asks people in airports and sea ports how long they intend to stay in the UK, or how long they are leaving for.
It also uses the Annual Population Survey to see who is in the country.
The ONS routinely reviews its statistics.