Net migration fell by almost 50% in 2024, compared to the previous year, theOffice for National Statisticshas said.
Ina reportout this morning, it says:
TheHome Officehas also released a whole raft of data relating to immigration, asylum, resettlement and returns. The various tables and reports are allhere. I will post the highlights shortly.
This isfromtheMigration Observatory, a migration thinktank based at Oxford University, on the ONS figures. They don’t normally get this excited about anything …
Here is the chart fromthe ONS reportshowing what has happened to net migration.
Commenting on the net migration figures (see9.38am), Mary Gregory, director of population statistics at theOffice for National Statistics, said:
Net migration fell by almost 50% in 2024, compared to the previous year, theOffice for National Statisticshas said.
Ina reportout this morning, it says:
A high court judge has blocked the UK government from concluding its deal to hand over theChagos Islandswith an injunction granted in the early hours of this morning,Eleni Coureareports.
Good morning.Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, is today announcing plans intended to reduce the amount of time offenders spend in jail. It is not a surprise – the main proposals have been on the table for some time – but it is still a big change from the way governments of all parties have run penal policy over the past few decades. Britain jails more people than most other countries in western Europe and recently sentences have been getting longer.
Mahmood appointedDavid Gauke, the liberal-minded former Tory justice secretary, to carry out a review of sentencing policy and hisfinal reportis out this morning. He has also publisheda report on history and trends in sentencing. Later Mahmood will give a statement to MPs where she will say which of the recommendations she is accepting. AsRajeev Syalreports in his overnight preview story, the answer is most of them.
And here is Rajeev’s summary of the main points from the report.
The Conservatives are opposed to the plans.Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, said:
ButGaukehas defended his plans, saying they are needed because otherwise the government will run out of space in prisons, and the criminal justice system will break down. He told the Today programme:
Gauke also said more community sentences could provide better value for money for the taxpayer.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am:Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
9.30am:The Office for National Statistics publishes immigration figures for the year ending December 2024. The Home Office is also publishing its own quarterly figures on asylum seekers, visas and resettlement.
10am:Kent county council meets for the first time since it came under Reform UK control.
10am:Matt Hancock, the former health secretary, gives evidence to the Covid inquiry as part of its test, trace and isolate module.
10.30am:Lucy Powell, the leader of the Commons, takes questions on future Commons business.
11.30am:Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
Around 11.30am:Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, is expected to make a Commons statement aboutthe Gauke review of sentencing.
Noon:John Swinney, Scotland’s first minister, takes questions from MSPs.
Here is the agenda for the day.
If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line when comments are open (normally between 10am and 3pm at the moment), or message me on social media. I can’t read all the messages BTL, but if you put “Andrew” in a message aimed at me, I am more likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word.
If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social. The Guardian hasgiven up posting from its official accounts on Xbut individual Guardian journalists are there, I still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary.
I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.