Government warned of 'disastrous' impact of Brexit on economy as immigration plummets

‘You can’t just turn on the tap again and say now we want more immigrants when you need people to fill NHS jobs and pick up the rotting fruit in the fields’

A "Remain" supporter, her face painted to resemble the EU flag, protests in London on July 2 (AP)

The government has been warned of the “disastrous” impact of the Brexit vote on the economy as figures reveal immigration has plummeted while the number of vacancies remains at a record high.

Official statistics show population growth has slowed to its lowest rate in a decade following a 12 per cent drop in the number of immigrants in the year after the referendum.

There was a 43 per cent decrease in the number of people immigrating to look for work over the last year, with the fall in the number of EU jobseekers particularly stark.

Politicians, charities and businesses have issued a warning to ministers about the detrimental effect Brexit is already having on the workforce, urging that the current decline in EU workers cannot be easily reversed and could lead to “very serious problems” for the economy.

Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said the government’s failure to provide certainty for EU nationals, coupled with Theresa May’s hostile environment policies, were driving vital workers out and “damaging” British society and prosperity.

Data published on Thursday, shows there were an estimated 66,040,229 people living in the country at the end of June last year – a 0.6 per cent rise on a year earlier – marking the lowest growth rate since mid-2004.

The Office for National Statistics, which released the figures, said the EU referendum was likely to be one of the key drivers of the changes.

In the 12 months after the Brexit vote, there was a 9 per cent increase in people leaving the UK and a 12 per cent drop in immigrants coming into the country, the figures show.

The dramatic decrease in migration from the EU has sparked warnings over “brain drain” from vital industries.

The Confederation of British industry (CBI) said job vacancies were at a record high and that access to skills and labour was a “huge concern” for businesses in the UK.

“Businesses want to help their EU staff navigate the process to stay in the UK and welcome the recent clarity around future rules. But the significant number of EU migrants leaving is a reminder that the UK must remain an attractive place to work,” a CBI spokesperson said.

“It is also time to confirm that this offer to EU citizens is independent of wider negotiations and that it will not be taken off the table altogether in the event of ‘no deal’.”

Leaders in the health and social care sector have also mounted concerns about its capacity to recruit and retain care staff from other EU countries after Brexit, warning that without the “major contribution” made by foreign workers, more elderly and disabled people will be driven into institutional care settings and away from independent living.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, told The Independent: “Social care is a fundamental public service on which millions of older people and disabled adults depend to live their lives. It is above all a ‘people business’, but it is proving difficult to attract enough high quality staff who want to engage in this demanding, albeit rewarding, work.

“Every day there are an estimated 90,000 vacancies in the social care workforce, and in some parts of the country especially a major contribution is made by care staff who have come here from abroad, both from within the EU and also far beyond it.“

Philip Connolly, policy manager at Disability Rights UK, echoed her concerns, saying: “These sectors are largely made up of people from overseas, but more and more of these people have been deterred from coming following the Brexit referendum.”

Ms Abbott said many EU citizens are worried about their future status.

“Ministers have talked as if they are a bargaining chip and the government’s latest effort falls well short of providing certainty,” she added.

“The government’s policy of creating a hostile environment affects all migrants, including those perfectly entitled to be here. It is wrong, and it is damaging our society and our prosperity. It should be abandoned.”

Chai Patel, policy director at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), claimed the UK was becoming a “less welcoming” place for migrants, and warned that this would be a “very serious” problem for public services and Britain’s economic future.

“Immigrants pay more into public services than they take out, so if you’ve got fewer migrants coming in then you’ve got an issue with filling public sector jobs – particularly in the NHS – which is obviously disastrous,” he said.

“This kind of decline is not something that the government can just reverse by changing a policy. Once you become somewhere that’s not attractive, you can’t just turn on the tap again and say now we want more immigrants when you need people to fill NHS jobs and pick up the rotting fruit in the fields. You get stuck in the spiral of not being able to get the people you need.

“Given that this decline is happening before we’ve actually changed any laws, it shows people are making the choice to leave or fewer people are making the choice to come here, and that’s not something this government can choose to reverse when it’s convenient.”

The Home Office has been approached for comment.