- The Observer, Sunday 8 December 2002
In Britain, one in three doctors, one in 10 nurses, 13 per cent of teachers and researchers in universities and 70 per cent of catering workers are foreign.
In the next eight years, Britain will need up to half a million IT, construction and domestic workers.
Without the contribution of foreigners to the economy, the average UK taxpayer would pay an extra penny in every pound in income tax.
If immigration controls were lifted in the developed world it is estimated that remittances from immigrants to their home countries would be about $200 billion: four times the present level of development aid.
Research from India shows emigration is not driven by poverty. Immigrants come from the richest areas of the country, such as Punjab, Kerala, Gujarat, and West Bengal. The poorest areas, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa and Bihar produce no emigrants.
There are 12 million refugees in the world and six million people displaced within their own countries. There are around 220,000 refugees and asylum-seekers in London.
Pakistan shelters an estimated 2.2 million people, followed by Iran with an estimated 1.9 million. In 2001 Asia hosted 48.3 per cent of refugees, Africa hosted 27.5 per cent while Europe hosted 18.3 per cent. Britain accepts 2 per cent of the world's refugees.
The Government spends less than 0.25 per cent of its total budget on supporting asylum-seekers - each taxpayer pays £1.78 a month.
There is a higher proportion of qualifications and skills among asylum-seekers than among the UK population as a whole, but they are consistently the most underemployed group.
Sources: UN High Commission for Refugees, Commission for Racial Equality, Refugee Action
