THE EQUALITY IMPLICATIONS OF BEING A MIGRANT IN BRITAIN
Migration policies, equality and citizenship Since 2000, the Government has sponsored an approach to managed migration which has been developed as a PBS for those coming to work and study from outside the EU. There has been little adequate Equality Impact Assessment undertaken by the Home Office or UK Border Agency (UKBA) of the different tiers 1, 2 and 5 of that system (relating to highly skilled, skilled, and temporary workers and youth mobility) in respect of equality groups. There is also a lack of rigorous criteria or analysis of available data, whether in relation to each form of inequality or their interaction. Furthermore, UKBA has not taken into account the impact of postimmigration discrimination in the labour market, or of gendered and ethnic employment patterns, which also have consequences for the extension of the right to remain and eventually settle. In the impact assessment of tier 2, gender discrimination is acknowledged by UKBA but set aside as an aspect of discrimination in the UK workplace. Other aspects of current immigration policies raise similar issues and also human rights concerns. Proposals on citizenship discriminate against work, asylum and family migrants, who will be required to learn English and ‘earn’ citizenship or permanent residence, unlike EU nationals. Like proposals to address concerns about large-scale migration by capping or setting quotas (which would not affect the majority of European migrants), these proposals are based on little or no research or statistical evidence, and have not been properly assessed in relation to equality impacts. As entry is linked more closely to rights of long-term residence and citizenship, the various forms of discrimination also need to be understood as a whole, rather than each stage being examined separately, as in the case of the impact assessments undertaken by UKBA. Statistics Much research on inequality and discrimination continues to use an ethnic classification. In addition, many British statistical sources do not allow for the identification of migrants and their characteristics as a component of the total resident population. Some sources collect information on ethnicity, nationality or country of birth but these are not interchangeable and need to be used consistently. According to the Labour Force Survey (LFS) 2006, 43 per cent of residents born abroad are UK nationals. Census data shows that 58 per cent of people from ethnic minorities in the UK were born abroad. Other sources include immigration figures, such as applications for new National Insurance numbers, but these, too, have their limitations. The following table sets out the availability of information on the various equality strands within existing data sources. viii