Have migrants improved the UK's public services more than they have strained them?
Migrants comprise around one in five NHS staff in England, with non-UK nationals making up 36% of doctors and 30% of nurses. Fiscal analyses show skilled workers and health/care visa holders often make a net positive lifetime contribution while care workers, their dependants and some family routes generate net costs. Recent net migration has fallen sharply to around 170,000 in the year to December 2025 but high inflows from 2021-2023 added demand to housing, education and health without matching infrastructure investment.
34 Opinions
Only thing improving is how many get leave to stay. Ridiculous.
Not anymore that's for sure and has outweighed itself to the point of our own young native citizens not getting the opportunities or support that immigrants receive.
All our public services are deficient therefore the answer has got to be no
Legal migrants contribute a huge amount, in doctors, nurses, cleaners, GPS. These people work there way up to these positions and are clearly qualified to do this. Controlled legal migration is required to maintain these services. And to be honest likes of the NHS still need more support in this way. Regards taking up housing these people earn a living in vital services so that on this should be accepted.
Every job that a migrant does could easily be done by a native of the country. This would remove language barriers and bring people into employment reducing the social security wage bill.
The question seems framed to imply that NHS staff from migrant backgrounds would make a greater contribution to the UK than their british colleagues. The answer is no. Poor planning in the NHS created the need for agency staff and an unsustainable wage bill.
Obviously not since 2022 and the social care visa debacle
YES Without doubt over the years migrants have made a massive difference to our country. They've done the jobs our own won't do, they've done the jobs we didn't have the manpower to do, the come & helped our country when it's needed help the most. In fact our history tells us, there's times in the past that without migrant workers working, GB plc would have ground to a halt
We have the capacity and capability to train our own, we need to support young people to train for these positions . Money funnelled into internment camps suggests few of the men crossing have any viable contributions to make but they cost us millions - and we have to fund their prison sentences as well. This money could be used to pay grants to people training for shortage services - and to improve the pay for care workers and other low paid but valuable work.
To those who say: "The NHS would collapse without migration", I say - That hiring decision is a choice based on short term cost saving. It's neither necessary, nor good for our doctors and nurses, or overseas countries deprived of their doctors and nurses, or patients. Same applies to the care industry. We are exploiting people.