Population Of 71 Million In UK By 2031...Are We Building Enough Homes?

Figures published today by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show that the UK population is projected to increase by 4.4 million by 2016 and to reach 71 million by 2031. The current population is 60 million.

The growth, says the ONS, will be fuelled by natural increase (more births than deaths) and because it is assumed there will be more immigrants than emigrants (a net inward flow of migrants).

The Figures differ for the four countries of the UK. The population of England is projected to increase by 8% by 2016, that of Northern Ireland by 7% and Wales by 5%. The projected increase for Scotland, where fertility and life expectancy levels are assumed to remain lower than in the rest of the UK, is 3%.

The Home Office projections will undoubtedly cause great concern for those in Whitehall planning the future of our public services and may spark a huge re-think in public policy as health, housing and education services all come under massive pressure.If we take Housing alone the recent Government Housing Green Paper promised to build two million new homes by 2016 and three million by 2020, at the current predicted population growth rates this may not be enough.

David Davis, the shadow home secretary, said: “The shocking acceleration in the rate of population growth makes it more urgent than ever that the Government should introduce a properly controlled immigration system...Without controls on the numbers coming here, we will face a future of public services struggling to cope.’’