Economic migrants
David Cameron announced that the government would make it harder for migrants to claim benefits, NHS treatment and social housing. Do migrants make a positive contribution to the public coffers?
— A Home Office study using data from 1999-2000 concluded that migrants paid £31.2bn in taxes and used £28.8bn in public services, for a net contribution of £2.5bn
— A paper in the Oxford Review of Economic Policy, using data from 2003/04, found migrants contributed a net £600m
— The Institute of Public Policy Research, using data from 2003/04, concluded that migrants cost the country a net £400m
— The pressure group MigrationWatch, also using data from 2003/04, concluded that migrants cost the taxpayer a net £5bn
— The House of Lords select committee on economic affairs, in 2008, found migrants had a ‘small’ overall effect, which official data was not good enough to quantify.
Lands of plenty
Boris Berezovsky’s death drew attention to wealthy Russians. What nationality are the world’s 100 richest individuals?
| US | 36 |
| Russia | 11 |
| Germany | 6 |
| Brazil, Hong Kong | 5 |
| France | 4 |
| India, Italy, Mexico | 3 |
| Colombia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Thailand |
2 |
| Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Cyprus, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Netherlands, Nigeria, Philippines, UK, Ukraine | 1 |
Source: Forbes
The millionaires’ club
Which bank has the most staff earning over £1 million a year?
| Barclays | 428 |
| HSBC | 204 |
| RBS | 93 |
| Lloyds | 25 |
| Santander | 19 |
Off the rails
How have passenger numbers changed before and since the publication of Dr Beeching’s report, which led to the closure of nearly half the railway system?
| 1913 | 1.42bn |
| 1953 | 985m |
| 1963, Beeching report published | 938m |
| 1983 | 695m |
| 1993 | 740m |
| 2003 | 1.01bn |
| 2011 | 1.46bn |
Source: Association of Train Operating Companies
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