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Daily Record

THE CHANGING FACE OF SCOTLAND … a look at the immigration situation in Scotland in 2007

ALMOST 150,000 migrants have come to Scotland in search of work over the last five years.

Huge numbers are coming from Eastern Europe, but we are still attracting thousands of people every year from countries including India and Pakistan.

And there are significant numbers of in comers from Australia, Ireland, America and New Zealand.

That’s good news, given expert advice that Scotland must look further afield than Eastern Europe to attract the 25,000 new faces we need every year.

Official statistics explode the myth that migrants are a drain on the benfits system.

Fewer than two per cent in Scotland claim state aid.

Since 2002-3, a total of 146,720 migrants have been identified as registered for work, although the real figures are much higher because many foreign workers are not counted.

After a modest start in 2002-3, when 14,500 migrant workers were registered, the total has increased every year.

Last year was the highest yet at 52,480.

The biggest source is Eastern Europe, particularly Poland.

Last year alone, Poles accounted for 44 per cent of all incomers.

They account for around 70 per cent of migrant workers in some parts of the country.

But the pattern varies throughout the country. In the UK, the vast majority of Eastern European workers are young - 82 per cent of them are aged 18-34.

Ninety-three per cent are single, with no dependants here.

But the figures can be taken with a pinch of salt. It is well known that many migrant workers are not registered for work and have no national insurance numbers.

MIGRATION economist Professor Robert Wright said: “The data is so weak that we are guessing at the exact numbers.

“If people are working for wages, they register. If they are self-employed, they don’t.

“The most accurate data is from the Census, but that’s only every 10 years. Here, we piece together information. There is no system of population registration like in Scandinavia.”

It is impossible to provide exact migrant numbers because of the way the statistics are gathered.

There are two main ways of finding information, although they do not provide an accurate picture.

Firstly, the migrant National Insurance Number Process provides information on the number of migrant workers. And secondly, the Workers Registration Scheme (WRS). Both have serious limitations.

NI numbers are allocated by the Department of Work and Pensions through Jobcentre Plus offices.

The date of arrival in the UK is recorded, along with the registration date. But there is no system to check when a migrant leaves the UK. And the information only shows the area of residence when the application was made.

The system does not track migrants if they move elsewhere in the UK. The NI scheme, therefore, only measures in-flow, not outflow or overall stock.

The WRS was set up to monitor migration from the A8 countries - Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, who joined the EU in 2004.

Migrant workers from A8 are required to register when they get work in the UK. But the WRS does not monitor de-registration and again only records in-flow.

Crucially, the self-employed do not have to register. This means the vast army of Polish and other A8 joiners, tilers and plumbers who work for themselves are not included in the statistics.

The register does not cover people who have more than one job.