The census does not give up-to-date information on migration. Other national sources do not give accurate numbers for locally resident migrant workers, but can help identify the number of new arrivals, rates of change and the gender and nationality of new workers. They give some information on occupations, ages and settlement intentions.
The best sources are: National Insurance number (NINo) registrations for foreign nationals; the Workers Registration Scheme (WRS); and the Pupil Level Annual School Census (PLASC). Other data sources that may be relevant include: the Labour Force Survey (LFS); and work permit data.
National Insurance number registrations for foreign nationals
Foreign nationals need a NINo before or as soon as they start working, so registrations data is a good proxy for people who are economically active. It gives information on inflows, nationality, gender and where applicants live. Data is not cumulative; there is no information on when workers leave an area.
Comparisons between councils are possible. One way of comparing impact over time and between different local areas is to use local working age population estimates as a baseline. National comparisons on this basis show that recent migration for work is less concentrated in London and other traditionally diverse urban areas, although London still has the fastest rate of change and the greatest number of foreign nationals.
Notes and resources:
- the Department for Work and Pensions have a Tabulation Tool that provides the latest registration data and national reports at regional, local authority and parliamentary constituency scales
- the Greater London Authority provide a review of the advantages and disadvantages of all migration data sources is available in Estimating London's new migrant population, P Rees and P Boden, Greater London Authority 2006.
- migrants staying in the UK for both short and long periods are included in the data
- data on new foreign NINos is not exclusively about migrant workers; refugees who may not all work and foreign students who work part-time are included in the data. It is therefore important to understand the local area context. For example, in university towns students will affect numbers and balance. In areas used by the National Asylum Seeker support service for housing asylum seekers, those granted leave to remain in the country may then register
- nationality alone may not describe population changes fully and does not always indicate language or ethnicity. For example, some Dutch citizens moving to the UK may speak Somali, as a number of Somali refugees granted Dutch citizenship have moved to England to join pre-existing communities of Somalis. Some citizens from the Baltic states are ethnic Russians and Russian speakers. A number of Portuguese nationals have a black African Angolan ancestry
- the data does not provide any indication of movement of migrants within the UK or whether the individual has returned to their country of origin
- the registrations data set doesn't provide the time of arrival to the area or country. Foreign nationals may have been in the area for some time before applying for a NINo
Workers Registration Scheme
This began in May 2004 and provides information supplied by citizens from the A8 countries when they obtain a job in the UK. A8 citizens are required to re-register for subsequent jobs until they have worked a total of 12 out of 13 months. There is no deregistration; the data only gives inflows. It is not possible to make assumptions about how long people stay or how many are working in an area at any one time.
Applicants provide information about their employer, occupation type and wages, and a basic demographic profile including nationality, age and dependents.
Published Home Office WRS statistics use the employer's address to allocate individuals to regions, although applicants also provide a residential or contact address. This can identify broadly where migrant workers are living. If both addresses are obtained, travel to work information can be deduced.
Access: UK, national and regional information can be found in Home Office: UK Border Agency accession monitoring reports.
Local authority-based information in an easily accessible format is available for local authority staff via the Local government analysis and research (external link) of the Local Government Association website. Other local information has to be requested from: freedomofinformation.workpermits@ind.homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk. Available scale: regional, local authority and postcode level.
Reports on the profiles and employment details of migrants at a regional and national level: Home Office, Department for Work and Pensions, HM Revenue and Customs and Department for Communities and Local Government, Accession Monitoring Report.
Notes and resources:
- Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council - investing in a multi-cultural Barnsley case study. The Council used WRS data to identify key local employers and then conducted surveys about the characteristics of migrant workers at each site
- analysis by the Commission for Rural Communities shows that there has been a higher rate of change and a clearer seasonal pattern in more rural districts
- the data underestimates arrivals as not everyone registers - there are some disincentives to registering, particularly for those not intending to stay for long, and self-employed people are not required to register
- data shows where employees were working at the time of first application or re-registration; any subsequent residential moves are not reported, and once an individual has worked for 12 out of 13 months, employment moves do not need to be reported
- postcode level data can be mapped with a Geographical Information System programme. Maps of where migrants are working, living, and travel to work patterns (if both residency and postcode data is obtained) can be made
- residential address data is less reliable than an employer's address but some of the Housing Market Renewal Pathfinders have used residence addresses to help inform strategy. In Kingston upon Hull postcodes were used to identify areas for a follow-up survey of local migrant workers. 'Urban Living in Sandwell' has mapped addresses to show patterns
- if only employer addresses are used, further work may be needed to determine areas of residence, which may be in another local authority area
Pupil Level Annual School Census
The data can provide an indication of settlement, as adults with children may be more likely to stay in an area for longer. 'First language other than English' is recorded everywhere; many education authorities request and record a more detailed breakdown of the first languages spoken.
Both flows and stocks are captured as the number of pupils who have entered or left the system during a year is recorded.
Notes and resources:
Labour Force Survey
The LFS is the only regularly updated national source of data giving information on both the flows and stocks of foreign nationals living and working in the UK. It is a sample survey of households living at private addresses and is collected on a quarterly basis.
Notes and resources:
- the main disadvantage of the LFS is its sample size which limits the amount of detailed breakdown available
- 99 per cent of the information is collected from private households; the survey underestimates the number of migrants living in caravan accommodation, for example many workers in the agricultural industry.
- from 2008 the survey will become a part of a new general household survey. A number of improvements are planned that should improve relevant statistics on migrant workers.
- access: datasets can be found on Nomis (external link) but the latest and more detailed LFS data can be obtained through Athens access from UK Data Archive (external link). Available scale: down to regional level
- more information: Office for National Statistics (external link)
International Passenger Survey (IPS)
The IPS provides estimates of outflows as well as inflows of foreign nationals. This allows national net migration figures to be calculated. It is a sample survey carried out at the main ports and airports across the UK. Net migration estimates from the IPS are allocated to individual local authorities by ONS as part of the annual updating of local population estimates.
Notes and resources:
- Length of stay, reason for coming to the UK and final destination within the UK are measured through the respondents' intentions. These may change while the foreign national is in the UK. For example, many migrants state London as their intentional destination but may move on relatively quickly.
- Migrants have in the past been defined in the IPS as those who intend to stay in the UK for 12 months or longer. ONS are looking at measuring shorter term stays as part of the Improving Migration and Population Estimates project.
- More information: Office for National Statistics: International passenger survey (external link)
Work permit data
The most useful local data is likely to be information on the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS). This is only important in some geographical areas; authorities where employers already use this scheme are likely to be aware of its local relevance. Workers are recruited for up to 6 months only. From 2007 onwards, an increasing percentage of the places will be reserved for Romanian and Bulgarian nationals. However, existing agreements mean that individuals from other countries like Ukraine will continue to come on this scheme.
Notes and resources:
- Changes to other work permit arrangements are being made under the government's new Managed Migration policy.
- Available scale: Down to local authority level.
- Access: Through a request to the Home Office.
- More information: J Clarke, J Salt, 'Work permits and foreign labour in the UK: a statistical review', Labour Market Trends, vol. 111, no. 11, 2003, pp 563-574.
- Herefordshire Council (external link) included SAWS data in a project completed in 2006 to find out information about migrant workers in their area.
Census data
The census provides details of migrant stocks and flows for the year prior to data collection at a neighbourhood level, but only every ten years. Census data for 2001 does not reflect migration following EU enlargement, or recent increases in international students.
Details of nationality are not captured. Country of birth may not provide a realistic picture of recent migration as year of entry details are not given.
Available scale: Down to local authority and ward level. Access: Datasets can be downloaded from Nomis (external link). Local area information can be found at Office for National Statistics: Neighbourhood statistics (external link)