Take It From This EU Migrant - We More Than Pay Our Way and This Country Would Be Much Poorer Without Us

When I first arrived in Britain, to complete my education at a Scottish university, I thought I would only stay three years. After all, mutual recognition of degrees among the (then) 12 European Union member states meant my qualification would be recognised back home in Italy. But then I found a job, and after that a better job, in the field I wanted to work in. Eventually I bought a place and married a Briton.

Twenty-five years later here I still am, still enjoying living in this country except for one thing. While I used to think of myself as an EU citizen, now, because of the increasingly hostile debate about the EU in this country, I discover I am in fact an immigrant - a word dripping with all sorts of negative connotations in an increasingly toxic public debate dominated and fanned by Ukip's agenda.

So are my fellow EU immigrants and I such a huge burden to this country? Today the news is dominated by a new, very serious piece of research by UCL on the fiscal effects of migration into the UK from 1995v to 2011. The report's findings are stark and unequivocal: EU migrants have consistently paid more into the system than they have taken out. Their net contribution for the past 10 years - that is the taxes they paid minus the services and benefits they received - nears £5billion.

That is no small change, 'back-of-the-sofa'-type sum. It is serious money contributing to keep British citizens in the style of welfare and service provision to which they are accustomed. If all EU immigrants left tomorrow their departure would leave a gaping hole in Britain's public finances, to say nothing of course of shrinking productivity, businesses put out of work by skills shortages at one end of the spectrum and seasonal produce left rotting in the fields at the other end.

But the UCL publication is just the latest in a long list of authoritative reports - be it from the European Commission, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, or the Office for Budget Responsibility - to state that EU migrants are net contributors and not the scroungers and benefit cheats they are often depicted to be.

Nor, contrary to popular belief, are we all scrabbling on the minimum wage, unfairly competing with natives for unskilled jobs. The NHS, one of the biggest employers in the world, relies hugely on EU migration: 11 per cent of all staff in the NHS are not UK nationals, a figure that rises to 26 per cent when looking at doctors only. Among the top 10 exporters of NHS staff, five are EU countries: Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Germany.

EU migrants are generally young (85 per cent of migrants from Eastern Europe are under 40), well-educated (more EU migrants than Britons have university degrees), and serious about their job-seeking efforts (EU migrants are 45 per cent less likely to claim benefits than Britons).

And not all are here to work, of course. In 2012-13, 125,000 students from across the EU followed in my footsteps and came to the UK to study. This is good for UK universities, which make a lot of money from EU students, and good for society at large, as many with desirable skills and knowledge will go on to make a significant contribution in this country in fields like science and technology, boosting innovation.

Consider also that EU freedom of movement is a two-way street: UK citizens also travel to other EU countries to study, to work, and to retire. Thousands of UK students benefit every year from the Erasmus programme, which offers grants to study elsewhere in the EU. 14,572 Brits took advantage of that in 2013/14. More generally, according to government estimates nearly two million Brits live elsewhere in the EU, which is nearly the same amount of EU migrants living in Britain.

After months of handwringing by all political sides -and plenty of policy-based evidence making -what we desperately need now is some leadership from the mainstream parties on the issues that really make people feel worried and insecure, and make vulnerable to UKIP's base, xenophobic rhetoric.

They should deal with the real problems caused by uneven distribution of resources and services being under pressure. It's called planning and it tends to be way more effective than running around like headless chicken, latest polls in one hand, megaphone in the other.

They should come down hard on gang masters who exploit low-paid workers, whether native or immigrant. We can and should keep better track of people's movements and therefore adequately prepare so there is not an undue pressure on public services. Exit controls or registration requirements exist in other countries and could be used in Britain too. Benefit entitlements can be tightened and deliberate abuse - minuscule though it is by all accounts - can be stamped down on.

What our leaders should not do is engage with Ukip in a race to the bottom, offering potentially catastrophic solutions to a largely imaginary problem, while the sources of the real hardship, insecurity and unfairness remain largely untackled.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/paola-buonadonna/uk-immigration-eu_b_6106638.html?utm_hp_ref=uk

wow

So...in 10 years they contributed 5 billion

thats erm...500 million a year or 0.075% of the income for the year 2011/12

AND NO thats NOT a misplaced zero...it realy is 0.075%

AND DOESNT TAKE into consideration all the associated "hidden costs"

I suppose when you have an economy so totally wrecked as ours is, and a bunch of useless clue less "hate the poor" tories at the helm ANY + ve income is good...but seriously ...0.075%?????.....dont make me laugh mr Italian immigrant... your contribution is hardly what one would call significant......

Yes but in that time 500 billion has been lost by British nationals, so the gap is massive between each other, showing how much more Eu immigrants benefit this country. There is no hidden cost that is a claim you are making which would make a a minuscule difference in the massive gap between them both
Hence the point here:



But the UCL publication is just the latest in a long list of authoritative reports - be it from the European Commission, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, or the Office for Budget Responsibility - to state that EU migrants are net contributors and not the scroungers and benefit cheats they are often depicted to be.

Nor, contrary to popular belief, are we all scrabbling on the minimum wage, unfairly competing with natives for unskilled jobs. The NHS, one of the biggest employers in the world, relies hugely on EU migration: 11 per cent of all staff in the NHS are not UK nationals, a figure that rises to 26 per cent when looking at doctors only. Among the top 10 exporters of NHS staff, five are EU countries: Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Germany.

Brasidas wrote:Yes but in that time 500 billion has been lost by British nationals, so the gap is massive between each other, showing how much more Eu immigrants benefit this country. There is no hidden cost that is a claim you are making which would make a a minuscule difference in the massive gap between them both
Hence the point here:



But the UCL publication is just the latest in a long list of authoritative reports - be it from the European Commission, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, or the Office for Budget Responsibility - to state that EU migrants are net contributors and not the scroungers and benefit cheats they are often depicted to be.

Nor, contrary to popular belief, are we all scrabbling on the minimum wage, unfairly competing with natives for unskilled jobs. The NHS, one of the biggest employers in the world, relies hugely on EU migration: 11 per cent of all staff in the NHS are not UK nationals, a figure that rises to 26 per cent when looking at doctors only. Among the top 10 exporters of NHS staff, five are EU countries: Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Germany.

500 billion lost???


well I supopose if you massage the criteria enough you can make that claim but seriously.....when 690 billion is the annual tax income to the exchequer
and in any case WHY was it lost....

well 3% was paid to the "sick lame and lazy"...i can live with that 10% went on pensions....I can live with that
a bit more here and there went on tings like child benefit and a whold lump on carers & invalidity benefit

but the VAST MAJORITY went on the disgusting "back door subsidy" to the fat cats......via working benefits and tax credits.

recession...is the cause of that problem in the main...and who's fault is that.....certainly NOT the "sick lame and lazy" that the tories despise.....and who hoover up a MASSIUVE (if you believe the tories) 3% of your tax....

thought for you all....

IF the "system" has to pay people in order that they can afford to live EVEN IF THEY ARE WORKING.....the the "system" is BROKE and needs fixing ...quick

Immigrants who arrived in the UK between 2001 and 2011 from the rest of the European Union contributed a total of £20bn more in taxes to the public purse than they received in benefits, while non-EU immigrations contributed £5 billion.
By contrast, the UK-born population contributed £617bn less in taxes than they received in benefits over that period.
The authors worked out the "net fiscal contribution" of different groups by calculating how much they cost in terms of government funds, such as medical expenses, schooling their children and benefits, and then deducting that from their overall contribution to the public purse.


The study from UCL"s Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration found that there was a 40% chance that the average Briton claims tax credits or benefits, compared to 23% for new immigrants since 2000 and a 24% chance for non-EU immigrants.

Immigrants from outside of the European Union, who already live or moved to Britain over 1995 to 2011, did pay in £118 billion less in taxes than they took out in benefits, but this is massively dwarfed by the £591 billion net cost for the UK-born population.

Meanwhile, EU migrants have still been net contributors, paying in £4.4 billion more in taxes than the received in benefits.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/11/05/uk-migration-ucl-study_n_6105522.html

IF the "system" has to pay people in order that they can afford to live EVEN IF THEY ARE WORKING.....the the "system" is BROKE and needs fixing ...quick

yep that's true.
I think Businesses and politicians need to be reminded that people want to 'work to live not live to work' and if working want cover living then......

VIVA LA REVOLUTION
maybe you can roll out the guillotines this time

Stop ALL migrants to this country for 1year, after that lets see how that effects us.

nicko wrote:Stop ALL  migrants to this country for 1year, after that lets see how that effects us.  

That is not an option Nicko, as the NHS "would" collaspe, farming industries would suffer as well as other businesses.
Are you willing to take that risk, with peoples lives?
.

As I said on the other forum, I did not say chuck out those who are here and working. I said illegals and criminals in our jails!

Yes I know you have Nicko but you want to stop all immigratiopn for a year. Which as seen is not workable, as many industries, espcially the NHS are reliant on immigrants to fill skilled staff shortages.

Brasidas wrote:Twenty-five years later here I still am, still enjoying living in this country except for one thing.

Let me guess: the food? You go from Italy, who taught the French to cook, and end up in Scotland???

'Neff said.

Original Quill wrote:

Brasidas wrote:Twenty-five years later here I still am, still enjoying living in this country except for one thing.

Let me guess: the food?  You go from Italy, who taught the French to cook, and end up in Scotland???

'Neff said.  

Eh?

This man has been here much longer than the next brainwashed generation have lived.

If t was down to me... No thanks I would not be without the diverse culture's. They benefit us in many ways and on a selfish note the immigration of our cousins have given inspiration and been a pleasure, all have been friendly and helpful. Never met a bad person from abroad, not saying there aren't any the same as with all cultures. But I repeat yet again, this immigration issue is just another tool used by politicians to create divisions and fear amongst people to divert their attention from things politicians don't want us to know about.

captainJane wrote:This man has been here much longer than the next brainwashed generation have lived.

If t was down to me... No thanks I would not be without the diverse culture's.  They benefit us in many ways and on a selfish note the immigration of our cousins have given inspiration and been a pleasure, all have been friendly and helpful. Never met a bad person from abroad, not saying there aren't any the same as with all cultures. But I repeat yet again, this immigration issue is just another tool used by politicians to create divisions and fear amongst people to divert their attention from things politicians don't want us to know about.

+1