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Scottish Public Services Facing Strain Unless Immigration Managed, Limited

© AFP 2023 / ADRIAN DENNISA member of public flies a giant Scottish Saltire flag outside the Houses of Parliament shortly before Scotland First Minister Nicola Sturgeon posed with newly-elected Scottish National Party (SNP) MPs during a photocall in London on May 11, 2015
A member of public flies a giant Scottish Saltire flag outside the Houses of Parliament shortly before Scotland First Minister Nicola Sturgeon posed with newly-elected Scottish National Party (SNP) MPs during a photocall in London on May 11, 2015 - Sputnik International
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Local public services in Scotland are at risk of being overwhelmed if immigration is not "managed and limited", the Scottish Director of the pro-Brexit Vote Leave campaign told Sputnik on Monday.

Scottish lawmakers at the new Scottish Parliament building, in Edinburgh. (File) - Sputnik International
Leaders of Scottish Parliament Back UK Remaining in EU
EDINBURGH (Sputnik) — Last week, the UK Home Office figures revealed almost a third of the 1,602 Syrian refugees who have gained access to the country have been settled in Scotland, despite the region making up less than 10 percent of the UK population. The official figures also highlight that only 8 percent of the 20,000 refugees the UK government said it would accept have entered the UK, far below the refugee intake of other EU countries.

"Immigration has benefited Scotland in the past because it has been managed and limited, and therefore has had economic benefits. But thanks to the EU immigration can no longer be managed or limited and there is a huge risk that local services will simply be overwhelmed," Tom Harris said.

According to Harris, this issue is not "about race or xenophobia."

"It’s simply about whether the public believe that the government will provide the extra homes, school places and local services we will need if, as the Treasury has predicted, we will have three million new citizens from the EU living here by 2030," the former Labour Party lawmaker said.

UK citizens are set to vote on June 23 in a referendum on the country's EU membership, after UK Prime Minister David Cameron and the leaders of the 27 other EU member states reached a deal in February to grant the United Kingdom a special status within the bloc.

Currently, Europe is struggling to manage its biggest migration crisis since World War II. Cameron has stated that the country would accept 20,000 refugees from Syria by 2020.

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