The Home Office's e-Borders IT programme cannot be used to estimate immigration, news media reported yesterday.
According to the Guardian, the disclosure came in an official response to a report by Parliament's Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) which said the existing method of estimating net migration based on the International Passenger Survey (IPS) was "not fit for purpose".
You can read the Government's response to the PASC report here.
The Guardian says that ministers told MPs that data from the e-Borders programme could not be used to estimate net migration because it does not collect information about whether passengers are long-term migrants or just visitors or tourists.
The Home Office said it would be illegal under European Union legislation to ask passengers how long they intend to stay or their purpose in entering the UK.
The Government said in its response: "EU Free Movement legislation supported by historical European Court judgements prevent Border Force Officers from routinely asking additional questions (e.g. on duration or purpose of intended stay) of EEA nationals beyond those necessary to establish nationality and identity."
According to the Daily Telegraph, the flagship e-Borders IT programme is expected to cost £1.2 billion. The Guardian put the cost at at least £500 million.
The Telegraph quoted Bernard Jenkin MP, the PASC chairman, as saying: "The Government is backing off from its own proposal, and trying to reduce the expectations of what e-Borders will be able to achieve."
"We were still under the impression that e-Borders was going to provide some of the answers. It's obviously disappointing that ministers don't have the same confidence."
He continued: "Anyone coming into our country should be obliged to answer any questions that officials wish to ask, within reason. The freedom of movement principle undermines our authority to do that."
Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, expressed deep concerned and was quoted as saying: "The e-Borders programme has cost the taxpayer hundreds of millions of pounds, taken more than a decade and now we know that a key original objective will never be achieved. The public have been badly let down."
In its response to PASC, the Government said it did not agree with that the IPS is too uncertain for accurate measurement of net migration. It said: "ONS [the Office for National Statistics] publish a clear indication of the statistical significance of changes in net migration that allow us to assess the reported changes. The Government has based its migration policy on the best available national estimates produced by the statistical system at this time."
The response later stated: "As the committee has noted, the Home Office has done much to enhance the clarity of presentation of its national statistics in recent years, including the move away from the Command Paper format to a completely new format of topic-based summaries of data available through our pages on the GOV.UK website. We have introduced a range of new sources of information, including the Migrant Journey reports, new data on Sponsorship for students and skilled workers, and new statistics on visa extensions. Together this information aims to help the public understand the complexity of migration flows and the different trends in the various forms of migration. "
"We will continue to work closely with ONS, involving users of migration statistics, to continue to improve the statistical system in this area, including by ensuring the statistics are presented in a way that is meaningful and better understood. I would add that it is not only the statistical service who are responsible for this clarity and we rely on all those who use and interpret to data to assist in this respect. "