THE number of Jamaicans and other Caribbean-born nationals in the United Kingdom (UK) has dropped, according to a new study released by the Institute for Public Policy Report (IPPA).

The BBC and other UK media houses have used the report for a series of features with the theme: ‘Born Abroad’, which looked at immigrating trends in the UK.

The report also showed that the number of Caribbean-born immigrants in Britain decreased by 12,000 between 1991 and 2001.

London, which is traditionally home to large numbers of Caribbean-born persons, showed a drop of 9,400 persons, with communities such as Tooting, Battersea and Vauxhall – which usually have large Caribbean populations – showing a decrease of 4,300 people. Meanwhile, Wembley and Harlesden lost 2,900 Caribbean-born residents.

The BBC used the IPPR report, which came out last week along with the Labour Force survey, to show that the immigrant population grew by an additional 1,147,905 immigrants in 2001, and was 7.5 per cent of Britain’s total population, compared to 5.7 per cent in 1991.

Approximately 41 per cent of these immigrants were based in London, making up a quarter of the city’s population.

The report, titled, ‘Beyond Black and White’, used the census to identify people’s changes of location and the Labour Force Survey to determine the socio-economic situation of the varied immigrant communities.

Author of the study, Dr Sarah Kyambi, said the decline in the number of Caribbean born immigrants could be explained by the increased immigration controls that people from the Caribbean now faced.

The IPPR said because of the increasing number and the growing diversity of immigrants in Britain, the government should now revise its integration policies to help improve the socio-economic situation of immigrants and asylum seekers.