Fifth of new Telford mothers not from the UK

The numbers, released by the Office of National Statistics, showed that 379 out of the 2,079 births in the area in 2017 were to a mother from outside the UK, a rate of 17.8 per cent.

The figure is nearly double that for the rest of Shropshire, where 259 out of the 2,793 births were to non-UK-mothers, a rate of 8.3 per cent.

It is still well below the national average rate of 28.4 per cent.

In Powys, only 77 of the 1,133 births were to mothers from outside the UK.

The percentage was lowest in South Staffordshire and in Redcar and Cleveland, where it was just 3.7 per cent.

The highest proportion was in Brent, where 75.7 per cent of new mothers were born outside the UK.

Of the estimated 370 mothers born outside the UK who gave birth last year in Telford & Wrekin, the most common place of origin was the EU – making up 51.9 per cent of the group.

Just six of the non-UK born mothers were originally born in European countries outside the EU, 83 in the Middle East and Asia, and 71 in Africa.

In the Shropshire Council area, 61 per cent of non-UK mothers were from other EU countries, 5.4 per cent from other European countries, 15.8 per cent in the Middle East and Asia, and 8.9 per cent in Africa.

Analysis

Of the 77 overseas mothers in Powys, 47 were born in the EU, (61 per cent), 17 from the Middle East and Asia (22 per cent) and four from Africa (5.2 per cent).

The ONS Annual Population Survey said that the figures for non-UK born mothers includes those who moved to the UK as children and have lived here most of their lives, as well as those who have recently migrated.

It also said that the figures for UK-born mothers include the children of second or third generation immigrants.

Analysis by the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford found there was a higher proportion of migrants among people of childbearing age.

In 2017, 28 per cent of 30 to 39-year-olds were not born in the UK, compared with 14 per cent of the population overall.

Migration Observatory director Madeleine Sumpton said this partly explained why the national numbers were high.

She said: “People migrate at all ages, but in general it’s harder for families to migrate.

“People in their 20s and early 30s generally have fewer attachments, and it’s more worthwhile for them to move.”

ONS senior statistician Liz McLaren said: “There are large variations in the percentage of births to women born outside the UK across England and Wales.

“This is due to local area differences in the percentage of women born outside the UK, and due to differences in fertility levels of migrants born in different countries.”

The figures showed that the number of children born to overseas mothers had increased in both Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin since 2012, but had fallen significantly in Powys.