UK Net Migration Halves
UK Net Migration Halves is estimated to have decreased by far the biggest numerical figure since records began. A judge from the High Court has temporarily knocked down the Chagos deal. A review done with the government recommends shortening the sentences of prisoners.
Today’s news
It is thought that net migration to the UK has been halved. Vied Post
What led to this record number? Vied Post
Number of asylum applications hits a new high. Vied Post
A judge stops the government from signing the Chagos deal. Vied Post
Officials are now considering proposals that would see prisoners released from prison earlier. Vied Post
There are now discussions about making chemical castration mandatory for sex offenders, stated the justice secretary. Vied Post
Live coverage by Will Charley
UK Net Migration Halves
The Office for National Statistics has estimated that net migration to the UK fell by around half, from 860,000 in 2023 to 431,000 in 2024.
It is the difference between people settling in the UK permanently and people leaving.
This number is the biggest monthly decline since the early days of the pandemic.
Ons officials explain that it is the result of a drop in the number of people working and studying in the UK.
What drove this record fall?
So far in our recording, the decline in net migration has hit a new record, with this number being cut by half in 2024, against 2023.
The number of visitors fell to 431,000 during the year to December 2024, down from 860,000 the previous year.
What is behind all this?
Less immigration last year occurred because fewer people moved to the UK for work and studies, but emigration went up by about 11%.
There were almost no long-term immigrants in Germany last year for the first time since 2019.
The forecast for this year was 948,000, having decreased by a third from the 1,326,000 in the prior 12 months and falling under a million again for the first time since March 2022.
There were 517,000 emigrants in the year to December, compared to 466,000 in the same period last year.
The level of people leaving the country is now back to where it was at the end of June 2017.
Visa changes are having an impact
It is not by surprise that net migration is going up in some countries.
The fall came after early 2024 restrictions by the Conservative government under Rishi Sunak on those allowed to enter the UK for work or study on visas.
Mary Gregory, who oversees population statistics at the ONS, says the main reason for falling immigration is fewer immigrants of workers and students.
She went on: “More people have left the country recently since travel restrictions to the UK were relaxed after the pandemic.
The government has reason to be pleased.
Less than two weeks after the prime minister said high net migration had greatly affected British society and could turn the UK into a country of strangers, the fall took place.
He said that he hopes to see significant reductions in net migration by the time of the next general election, although he would not provide a specific target.
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Number of asylum claims reaches record high.
Moving forward on immigration because while migration to the UK dropped sharply last year, the number of asylum claims set a new record.
Still, a timid government will not embrace these findings.
The number of people claiming asylum in the UK increased by 17% to 109,000, according to the ONS.
This year’s figures show the highest number of asylum seekers ever.
The number of first decisions on asylum claims fell by 11% to 94,000 during the year to March 2025, but was still higher than each of the previous years from 2003 to 2022.
Refused claims were more common than requests that were granted in the initial review.
Instead of making more grants last year, the process this year has resulted in fewer grants at a rate of nearly half (49%).
Judge blocks government from signing Chagos deal.
An injunction issued by a High Court judge this morning has barred the government from concluding negotiations on the Chagos Islands deal.
John Healey, the defence secretary, was expected by many to speak this morning about a completed agreement on the islands.
A quick note: the seven atolls which are about 500km south of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean, are being transferred to Mauritius by the government.
But we now see why Healey’s speech was cancelled quite early in the morning.
The injunction was handed down at 2.25 am this morning.
Mr Justice Goose granted Bertrice Pompe interim protection against the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to her earlier efforts to sue over the deal.
The government will present its defense of the deal at a hearing today.
He said: “Both parties promise the defendant will not legally conclude or bind itself to any terms surrounding the possible transfer of the British Indian Ocean Territory to a foreign government.”
The defendant may not legally transfer or use a part or all of the territory.
The party accused shall keep British power over the British Indian Ocean Territory as long as there is no other decision.
The judge made the decision to grant an injunction only after studying the facts presented by Pompe and the defense in their applications.
A hearing is now planned for 10.30 this morning.
A spokesperson for the government responded: “We will not comment on matters that are being handled by the courts.”
This deal needs to protect the British people and the country’s security.
Review calls for prisoners to spend less time behind bars
With the sentencing review now published, the government has received many recommendations.
It marks the biggest change to sentencing rules since the 1990s and was undertaken by former Conservative justice secretary David Gauke.
He wants to limit the number of people in prison to 9,800 by 2028.
Because the government announced last month that the prisons in England and Wales were too full, and if no changes were made, there would be no more empty cells by November.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has already introduced some changes to ease the crisis, but it’s believed the review’s findings, if put in place, would only start to really impact things in the spring.
So, what solutions does the review suggest?
The main point of the review is that prisoners should not be kept in jail for as long as possible.
It argues that sentence lengths for most types of four-year or less prison terms should be reduced for offenders, so they have to remain incarcerated for only one third of that sentence.
If the person behaved well in prison, they were released early and placed on a community licence for the following three years, using things like an alcohol tag or abiding by a curfew.
During the last part of their sentence, they would have no probation supervision, but could still be brought back.
This means prisoners convicted of violent, sexual, or family violence and given terms of up to four years could be freed before the end of their sentence.
Among violent offenders, those given long sentences must remain in prison for at least half their term and then are supervised while they remain free up to 80% of that term.
What else?
The review also recommends that sub-annual contracts shouldn’t be used, only in particular cases.
It is because these are tied to “sharply higher rates of reoffenses” by the offender.
After a pilot study in England’s southwest, chemical castration for certain sex offenders is being encouraged.
Today, treatment is optional, and some inmates use medications to lessen their sexual urges.
Ministers will announce the start of this scheme across England, and the Secretary of State for Justice is weighing whether citizens will have to use it.
Further recommendations are raised on investing more in probation services, using a stricter criterion for recalling convicted persons and requiring those recalled to serve twice as long behind bars than is now the case.
It is anticipated that the government will adopt the main points raised in the review.
Tap here to read more: https://news.sky.com/story/sex-offenders-could-face-chemical-castration-under-plans-in-sentencing-review-13372405.
Mandatory chemical castration of sex offenders being explored, says justice secretary.
The government will take steps to expand chemical castration for certain offenders, Shabana Mahmood stated.
According to the justice secretary, the review suggests continuing a pilot project for using medication for problematic sexual arousal. Next, I will launch the program across the country, including two regions and 20 prisons.”
According to Mahmood, authorities are investigating the possibility of requiring chemical castration.
She says the government will consider this along with actions that target other reasons for crime, including trying to assert power and control.
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