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One in three babies in England now has a parent who was born abroad

Nearly a third of children born in Britain today has a foreign-born parent
A ten per cent rise from 21.12 per cent in 2000 to 31 per cent in 2011
More than 130,000 children born in 2011 had two parents born outside UK

By Daniel Martin

PUBLISHED: 23:13, 30 April 2013 | UPDATED: 23:13, 30 April 2013

Almost a third of all children born in England and Wales now has at least one foreign-born parent, figures reveal.

In 2011, 224,943 babies had either one or both parents born outside the UK � 31 per cent of the total.

This is a substantial rise on the figure in 2000, when just 21.2 per cent of babies had at least one non-British-born father or mother.
International nation: Over 30 per cent of all children born in 2011 had at least one parent born outside of the UK

International nation: Over 30 per cent of all children born in 2011 had at least one parent born outside of the UK

The statistics, obtained by Tory MP Nicholas Soames, show that some 131,288 children had two foreign-born parents � 18.1 per cent of the total number of births in 2011.

A further 12.9 per cent � a total of 93,655 � had one parent who was born outside the UK.

At the end of the year, immigration restrictions will be lifted on Romanians and Bulgarians � prompting concerns that the numbers will rise yet further.

Andrew Green, of MigrationWatch, said the figures were �astonishing�. He added: �This is the clear result of Labour�s mass immigration policy which is changing the nature of our society at a speed which is unacceptable to the public who of course were never consulted.�

The figures � obtained after a parliamentary question � show that 64.9 per cent of babies born in London in 2011 had either one or two parents born outside the UK.
Mixed capital: In London, 64.9 per cent of babies born in 2011 had either one or two parents born abroad

Mixed capital: In London, 64.9 per cent of babies born in 2011 had either one or two parents born abroad

There were 27,403 births where one parent was foreign-born (20.6 per cent of the total), and 58,905 where both were born abroad (44.3 per cent).

The next highest percentages were seen in the West Midlands, where 28.7 per cent had at least one foreign parent; the South East, 27.7 per cent; and the East of England, which covers counties to the north and east of the capital, 26.9 per cent.

At the other end of the scale, the figure in the North East was 13.1 per cent, and 14 per cent in Wales. In Scotland, it was 18.3 per cent.
Shocking: The figures were obtained by Tory MP Nicholas Soames

Shocking: The figures were obtained by Tory MP Nicholas Soames

David Green, from the centre-right think-tank Civitas, said: �The irresponsible actions of the last government have played havoc with public services, leading to serious harm especially in the NHS, and serious harm in the schools system.

�Maternity units are in crisis, there are huge pressures on school places, and housing is under even more pressure that it otherwise would have been.�

A spokesman for the Office for National Statistics said that in 2000, the proportion of babies in England and Wales born to at least one foreign-born parent was 21.2 per cent.

It is the first time the figures have been released on both parents. The ONS usually only releases information on what proportion of mothers are foreign-born.

Last October, it was revealed that in 2011, there were 808,000 births, comprised of 612,000 births to UK-born women and 196,000 births to non-UK born women.

This meant that 24 per cent of births in 2011 were to non-UK born women � an increase of two percentage points since 2007.

The top five non-UK born mothers� countries by number of births were Poland, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Nigeria.

Not all births are necessarily to parents who live in Britain permanently, as some could be people who travel to the UK to take advantage of its free NHS.

Last month, a leading surgeon, Professor Meirion Thomas, said the UK was becoming the �world�s maternity wing� as people travel here simply to give birth.

Years of high immigration levels have put intolerable pressure on maternity units because the number of births has been far higher than officials had predicted. There is currently a shortage of more than 3,000 midwives in the NH

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