To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment her Department has made of the likely effects of climate change on numbers of (a) immigrants and (b) asylum seekers entering the UK in the next 10 years. (223559)

[holding answer 11 September 2008]: The Department has been working to identify potential areas of risk it may face as a result of climate change, which can be found here:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climatechange/adapt/programme/home-office.htm.

The global impact of climate change could affect the levels and patterns of migration to and from the UK, but the links are complex and there is no consensus among the scientific community. This will be kept under review.