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High Level Summary of Statistics: Population and Migration
Improving Migration
Statistics
Last Updated: September 2009
Since the early 2000s, and especially since Eastern European
countries joined the EU in May 2004, migration has played a larger
part in Scotland’s demographic change than in the previous
decade. So it has become more important to have high quality
statistics on migration and the population, for policy development
and for planning and providing public services. GROS is part of an
inter-departmental effort, led by the Office of National
Statistics, to improve the estimates of migration and migrant
populations in the United Kingdom, both nationally and at a local
level. The Improvements to Migration and Population Statistics
(IMPS) cross-government programme involves:
- Improving the data available on numbers entering and leaving
the United Kingdom;
- Making effective use of new and existing administrative and
survey data sources;
- Improving local population estimates and projections used in
allocating resources and developing services;
- Improving the public reporting of population and migration
statistics;
- Establishing a wider range of timely indicators and analysis to
inform the evidence base on migration and its impacts on policy and
public services.
Within Scotland, we plan to use the improved statistical
information thus available, to improve progressively the population
estimates and projections which we prepare and publish. This
includes:
- The estimation of short term migrant numbers for Scotland;
- A review of the method of allocation of international migrants
to council areas;
- The development of indicators of migration at local authority
level and early indications of changes in population trends;
- Increased accuracy of estimates of migration, thanks to
improvements to the design and sample size of the International
Passenger Survey;
- Better quality and more comprehensive information of passenger
numbers and movements to and from the UK (although not the
destination within the UK), from the e-Borders programme;
- Information on non-European Economic Area (EEA) nationals
intending to work or study in the UK from the Points Based
System.
Links
Migration estimate methodology
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