The research study, Migrant Workers in the South West, was commissioned by the South West Regional Development Agency (RDA) and undertaken by the South West Skills and Learning Intelligence Module (SLIM) during the autumn of 2007. It also forms part of a programme of research in support of the South West Regional Skills Partnership (RSP). The research aimed to gain a greater understanding of the scale and nature of migrant working in the region and the impact on business and the economy.

The poor coverage of robust national, regional and local data means that policy-makers do not have the evidence base they need on which to base good policies. No single data source has comprehensive coverage of migration. A particular challenge facing migration studies is the lack of information on out-flows (i.e. emigration) from the UK. Each of the data sources drawn on for this report has its own strengths and weaknesses and adopts a different definition of migration and has partial coverage of the phenomenon.

This problem of data sources has been recognised most recently in the Audit Commission Report, Crossing Borders, which recommends plugging this gap by drawing on intelligence emerging at local levels.

It is also important to note that the volume and nature of migration is shaped by the legislative framework at UK (and EU) level. Hence, in any consideration of the role of migrants in the labour market the legislative and policy framework is of key importance. The report sets out a number of key legislative and policy changes that have taken place since 2005.