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Biggest influx of EU immigrants
A REPORT says a north Kent borough has seen the biggest influx of Eastern European immigrants in the county since 2004.
From May 2004 to December 2007, Gravesham had the highest ratio of immigrant workers from eight Eastern European countries per population in all of Kent, according to the
Institute for Public Policy Research.
In 2004, the eight countries joined the European Union and the citizens of those nations could apply to work in the UK.
And, in a report published on April 30, the institute said 2,145 immigrants from those countries had been granted permission to work in Gravesham.
The borough has an estimated population of 116,300, which means about 15 out of every 1,000 people are immigrants from the Eastern European countries.
Thames Gateway Kent Chamber of Commerce's
chief executive, Tracey Manley, says immigrant workers in Gravesham had boosted the economy.
She said: "There are a lot
of new construction projects going on in the area, such as the Ebbsfleet Valley development near Swanscombe, which have a number of jobs which have been filled by hard-working people from EU countries."
The report found Dartford had 1,700 immigrants from the eight countries in its population of 89,900, or 13 in every 1,000 people - the third highest in Kent.
Kent's average is nine immigrants per 1,000 people.
Report co-author Dr Danny Sriskandarajah said around half of the 19,530 immigrants who had entered Kent since 2004 had now left.
He said: "Our findings challenge the widely-held assumptions most of those who have arrived are still here, more will come and most will stay.
"With fewer migrants in and more migrants out, the UK seems to be experiencing turnstiles, not floodgates."
The report estimated 84 per cent of the 19,530 new immigrants throughout Kent are employed.
It also said the average working week of immigrant workers is 46 hours and very few claimed benefits.
The report recorded the number of immigrants from Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia in the Government's
Worker Registration Scheme.
It measured the ratio of these immigrant workers per head of population in each area of the UK.
The institute is a UK-based company which provides
research and advice to a range of organisations.
Its report can be viewed at ippr.org.uk
10:38am Tuesday 13th May 2008
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