UK immigration to fuel boom in Scottish ethnic minorities
July 13 2010 by Liam Clifford
New projections suggest that the number of people from ethnic minorities living in Scotland will increase four-fold by 2051.
A rise in the number of people
moving to the UK from Europe, Asia and Australasia is set to drive the increase,
according to the research carried out by the University of Leeds.
By
2051, the research suggests that ethnic minorities, which are people categorised
as anything other than ‘white British’, will account for a fifth of the
population of the UK. In 2001, only 8 per cent of people living in Britain were
from an ethnic group.
In Scotland, in 2001, some 4.5 per cent were from
an ethnic minority, which is expected to rise to 15.7 per cent by 2051. The
study's head researcher, Professor Philip Rees, says that more needs to be done
to make sure there are enough public services and sufficient infrastructure to
cope with the increase in people moving to the UK from abroad.
He said,
“We have to be ethnically aware in our school policies. It is a continuation of
current trends in terms of the mixture of ethnicity in today’s primary
classrooms and that will move on to secondary schools and university.”
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