Government claim over Scottish migration challenged

---

January 15, 2004

The Home Secretary's case that Scotland, with its skills gaps and ageing population, is a reason why the United Kingdom needs large-scale inwards migration has been challenged in a paper from Migrationwatch.

The paper says it is unclear why a low birth rate and loss of population in a relatively small part of the United Kingdom with only 8.5% of its population should prove the need for heavy immigration into the UK, which overall has a very dense and growing population.