Fewer migrants cross Channel at beginning of 2023 than January last year

The number of migrants making the journey across the English Channel dropped last month in comparison to January 2022, but figures are still far greater than previous years.

The latest government figures show a total of 1,180 migrants have arrived in the UK so far in 2023, 159 fewer than the 1,330 who made the crossing in January a year earlier.

However, this is still much higher compared to the previous four years. Seven people were recorded making the journey in January 2018; 45 in 2019; 94 in 2020 and 224 in 2021.

Government officials previously suggested any drop in crossings over the winter could be seasonal and linked to weather conditions, with numbers expected to rise again in the spring.

The Home Office published the latest figures after resuming responsibility for operations in the Channel to tackle migrant crossings.

UK coastguard responds to migrant emergency in English Channel - in pictures

A life boat returns to the Port of Dover in England amid a rescue operation of a missing migrant boat. Reuters
Police and coastguard officers gather at Dover. People are feared to have died after a small boat carrying migrants got into difficulty in the English Channel. Reuters
Air Ambulance personnel arrive in Dover. EPA
Forensic tents at the lifeboat rescue station are set up at the port. AP
Ambulances at the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station in Dover. PA
The RNLI station being readied to receive boats returning from the incident in the English Channel. PA
An ambulance arrives at the port. PA

The new Small Boats Operational Command has taken over from the Royal Navy, which had been leading operations for eight months.

Military and civilian staff will work with the National Crime Agency under the SBOC as part of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s promise to “grip illegal migration”.

He vowed to pass new laws to “stop the boats” as one of his five pledges for the year ahead.

How is Europe clamping down on people who help refugees?- video

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5

Top 10 in the F1 drivers' standings

1. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari 202 points

2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-GP 188

3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes-GP 169

4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing 117

5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 116

6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing 67

7. Sergio Perez, Force India 56

8. Esteban Ocon, Force India 45

9. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso 35

10. Nico Hulkenberg, Renault 26

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The candidates

Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive

Ali Azeem, business leader

Tony Booth, professor of education

Lord Browne, former BP chief executive

Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist

Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist

Dr Mark Mann, scientist

Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner

Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister

Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster

What is the FNC?

The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”