In 2016 there are over 185,000 National Insurance registrations in the UK compared to less than 10,000 for the workers from USA. This is a ratio of approximately twenty to one.
2. One in eight UK residents (13.3%) in 2015 were born abroad compared to 1 in 11 (8.9%) in 2004. Suggest reasons for this change in the resident population of Britain. (3)
The nearly 50% dramatic increase in the percentage of the UK population born abroad is the result of increased net migration during the period from 2004 to 2011. For the first few years of this period the British economy was growing attracting overseas workers to fill jobs shortages in the UK. At the same time from 2005, 10 new countries joined the EU. Britain allowed unrestricted access for the people of these new EU Member states to come and work in the UK. Many hundreds of thousands came from countries like Poland. In the aftermath of the banking crisis in 2008-9 other europena migrants arrived seeking work from countries such as Spain and Portugal where there was high youth unemployment.
3. What is the difference between immigration and emigration? (1)
Immigration is people moving to live in a country while emigration is people leaving that country to live elsewhere.
4. Describe three pull factors for migration to the UK. (3)
Pull factors are positive factors attracting people to move to the UK. These pull factors include: higher wages that those available in the donor country; the relative ease of the language as many people learn English at school and are used to watching Hollywood movies and the relative level of political freedoms enjoyed in the UK which may attract those fleeing political persecution elsewhere
5. Suggest reasons for the growth in migration numbers to Britain after the Second World War. (3)
In the aftermath of World War II migration to the UK increased as Britain had skill shortages as a result of the need to rebuild the shattered economy but after the loss of so many young lives in the war. Migrants were encouraged by the UK government to move to Britain from the Caribbean in thwe 1950s and Indian sub-continent in the 1960s. A long economic boom from the 1950s to early 1970s, plus the expansion of council house building, the NHS and public transport, ensured that work was readily available and an attractive prospect for overseas workers.
6. Outline the economic benefits and economic problems associated with immigration to Britain. (6)
Generally migration has economic benefits for a host country such as Britain. Migrants can help fill skill shortages and allow the economy to expand. Having workers trained abroad also helps save money for the UK government. Migrants tend to be younger and so have fewer health issues. They tend to contribute more to the government revenues than they take out in benefits and services. The extra tax revenue can be used for infrastructure projects which boost the economy overall. Meanwhile, the extra migrant workers in a country spend their wages in the local economy creating multiplier effect boosting economic growth.
However, migration can cause some problems. A shortage of housing can push up house prices. This leaves people spending more money on mortgages and rent and less on other things. This can weaken an economy. Migrant workers may be prepared to work for lower wages than native workers. Employers can use this to undermine local wage rates. This may boost the particular company’s profits but may harm the economy as a whole.
7. “Britain has benefited from immigration over the last century.” Discuss this view. (8)
Britain has had several waves of migration over the last century from Jewish refugees through to more recent migrants from Eastern Europe. In 2015, 13% of the UK population were born abroad, with many million more the children and grandchildren of former migrants. While migration is often politically controversial and many people see migrants as a problem, a view regularly promoted by the tabloid press, Britain has in fact benefits from migration in many ways.
Whether Afro-Caribbean migrants in the 1950s, South Asians in the 1960s, African Asians in the 1970s or more recently Polish migrants post-2005, these migrants have arrived seeking work and have filled vital skill shortages in the economy. In turn these workers have paid taxes and contributed to the development of public services in the UK. While some people opposed to migration say that these migrants are a drain on resources, they are, in fact, net contributors to the economy and government funds.
While some people find new arrivals threatening and fear a loss of ‘British culture’ many would argue that Britain has been culturally enriched by people from overseas. High street takeaways and restaurants have become more diverse including Chinese, Indian, Thai, Italian, Caribbean and African foods. While some of these restaurants may have originally spring up to cater to migrant communities they have quickly become popular with many other people. Cultural diversity has also included new music, art, theatre and fashion originating in migrant communities but becoming increasingly mainstream in recent years. This has not only made Britain more diverse but has added to the economic growth of the country.
8. “Severely restricting immigration and economic success are incompatible in the modern world.” Discuss this viewpoint in relation to the United Kingdom. (8)
The British government has a target of restricting net migration to the UK to less than 100,000 people each year. This is an ambitious target as form many of the most recent years net migration has been above 300,000. While this target may be popular with people who fear mass migration, it may actually counter-productive for the UK economy as a whole.
In recent years Britain has relied on migrant workers to fill skill shortages in the labour force (for example, large number of Polish builder have found work in the UK) and well as in filling non-skilled jobs (there are many Romanian and Bulgarian migrants employed in agricultural pickers and packers in the east of England). At the other end of the economic spectrum high wage migrants such as footballers of bankers earn large sums of money and pay significant taxes in the UK. Without these migrants individual companies would suffer as would the economy as a whole.
With many populations ageing as a result of increasing life expectancy and declining birth rates, countries which do encourage and support migration are likely to suffer significant skill shortages as well as struggling to meet the costs of higher medical and social care from a declining tax base. Britain has seen an increase in its birth rate in recent years, in part because of higher fertility rates among migrant families. This is a positive future benefit as these young people will become the workforce of the future. Without migration the costs of social care would require either cuts in services or higher taxation.
