Failure to address the risks of unchecked immigration could spark riots, warn MPs

A report by the Labour-led Communities and Local Government Committee found that fears over high immigration stem from 'genuine anxieties' and not from 'racist or xenophobic sentiments.'

These include concerns about the impact of migrants on the Health Service, schools, social care, policing and housing.

But the report warned: 'The Government needs to take immediate action to address public concerns about migration, and to defuse tensions before they lead to disturbances.'

Alert: Riot police on the streets in Burnley, Lancashire, after clashes led to cars being overturned in 2001

MP Phyllis Starkey: Increased concern

It noted that open disturbances between migrant and settled communities are rare.  And it pointed out that there have been no disturbances on the scale of those which took place in Burnley, Bradford and Oldham in the summer of 2001.

But it was clear that migration has had a significant impact on communities and local services - greater even than crime and terrorism.

The report advised ministers to take local concerns into account when making national migration policy - a clear hint to Gordon Brown to cut current immigration levels. 

The committee, led by Labour MP Phyllis Starkey, also recommended that 'the effect of migration on community cohesion should be central to decisions on migration policy'.

This is a clear break from immigration policy since Labour came to power, when it adopted the doctrine of multiculturalism that said it was racist to suggest that curbing immigration contributed to better race relations.

Dr Starkey said: 'We found that public concerns about the effects of migration are not necessarily based on prejudice, but can arise from genuine anxieties about practical issues, such as the effect of migration on housing and other local services.

'The Government needs to take action to respond to public concerns about the effects of migration.'

The report, Community Cohesion and Migration, used the example of Peterborough, where a third of residents now believe different ethnic groups are at loggerheads.

Migration was linked to car crime, prostitution, benefit fraud, street drinking and overcrowded housing - often leading to litter and fly-tipping.

Police in Peterborough told the MPs that immigration had led to more cannabis-growing, trafficking of eastern European women, drink-driving and knife crime.

The report concluded that the rapid pace of change caused by immigration and the resulting competition for limited public resources has led to 'increased local concern about migration' that 'can negatively affect community cohesion'.

New risk: Cars lie burned out while shop windows are boarded up after being smashed in a night of riots in Burnley

Criticism: Baroness Sayeeda Warsi

It recommended spending more on teaching English to migrants, on public services in areas of high immigration, and on community groups that mix people of different backgrounds.

Baroness Warsi, Tory cohesion spokesman, said: 'This report is yet another indictment of the problems caused both by the Government's failure to control the numbers of migrants coming into this country, and by their inability to know where migrants are living and to fund local authorities accordingly.'

Hazel Blears' Communities Department accepted that immigration poses 'challenges'.

A spokesman said: ' Government has a role in ensuring that the diversity which is a real strength of this country is successfully managed and doesn't lead to problems in how people live and get along together.'

She said an extra £60million has been given to schools and local authorities to ease tensions, and fees for some immigration applications are coming in next year.

The Home Office's plan for a levy on immigrants to fund extra public services will only amount to a "drop in the ocean", MPs also .

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith plans to allow police and local councils hit with immigration-related costs to bid for cash from a fund raised by a levy on citizenship fees.

But the all-party Communities and Local Government Committee said current proposals would provide only a tiny fraction of current spending.

It could even be unfair because not all migrants would be forced to cough up, they added.

"The money that this fund will generate is very limited. Press reports suggest that the fund would raise only £15 million.

"If this figure is correct it is a drop in the ocean in comparison to the needs of local government - equating to only 0.001% of total local government expenditure in 2005/06, and the fund is suggested to cover all local public services, including the police and the NHS, not just local government."

The Home Office said this week that the fund would actually generate "tens of millions" of pounds.

The MPs added: "Though the principle of asking migrants to pay towards local services is sound, the fund will not be paid into by all migrants.

"This raises questions about the equity of the scheme - why should international migrants alone pay extra to fund local services under pressure from all migrants?"

The report said the Government should instead set up a contingency fund, as suggested by the Local Government Association which has repeatedly called for £250 million to be made available.