It is impossible to find a good Polish plumbers in Poland, apparently - because all the plumbers have moved to the UK.

There have been many stories in the press recently about the influx of Polish plumbers to the UK. The media do have a tendency to sensationalise things, however in this case there is truth in their publications. Haven't most people heard of someone who has used (or wants to use) Polish plumbers to do work on their house?

The Construction Industry Training Board calculates that almost 32,000 more plumbers will be needed by 2008, so should we be encouraging Polish plumbers at the immigration gates?

Is the UK plumbing industry being taken over by Polish plumbers?

Migration is adding 180,000 to the UK population each year and has been boosted by workers from eight eastern European states which joined the EU in 2004. The majority of these recent migrants are young, highly qualified and hard-working. They are employed mainly in low skilled, low paid jobs that can be arduous and which many indigenous people will not do. One in four migrants are 'process operatives' - low-skilled production line workers.

Since 2002, the number of immigrants to the UK has averaged more than 530,000 each year. Over the same period, more than 350,000 Britons have left for foreign climes each year. Overall, this has added around 180,000 a year to the population; close to the size of Luton and almost the city of Birmingham every five years

It's estimated that about 750,000 Poles live in the UK. In the big cities, delicatessens, churches and bars have sprung up especially to cater for them. It seems that many of them may be Polish plumbers.

Are Polish plumbers cheap?

According to the latest stories Polish plumbers and builders have hiked up their prices, allowing British tradesmen to win back some of the business they lost when their Eastern European rivals arrived in the UK three years ago. It is perhaps unsurprising that the Poles have done this - they have become more accustomed to British life and want to have their own home, pay council tax and so on. Polish plumbers are becoming more selective about the jobs they do and want wages that are more in line with their British colleagues.

How easy is it for Polish plumbers to work in the UK?

The potential exploitation of migrant workers is a big issue. The migrant workers know that they are being paid less - they have to work longer hours to make up the difference in pay. Health and safety awareness is also a concern - there is a reported rise in the number of injuries to migrant workers on construction sites due to the fact they have language difficulties with signage. Many are also at a disadvantage in terms of understanding our complex legislation system.

Why do the Polish plumbers choose the UK?

The overwhelming majority of recent immigrants into the UK are from Poland, mainly because it is by far the largest country to recently enter the EU, but other factors are at play. According to the Monetary Policy Committee's David Blanchflower, Polish citizens are more likely to come to the UK because unemployment in their home country is high and incomes and the quality of life are low. So in short, the Poles come to the UK for a better quality of life - hence the influx of Polish plumbers.

There are now another group of workers, still willing to fix a leak for next to nothing. Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU in January 2007 and it is expected that soon there will be another influx of workers into the UK. Low incomes and quality of life in their own countries mean that many of these new EU citizens will be keen to move, with research showing their preferred destinations as Central and Southern Europe.

In a World Bank survey, more than 80% of Romanians said they would move to another country to work if it was legally possible. So watch this space!

Immigration is a hot topic in the UK and most people I speak to have an opinion about what should happen and how the government is handling it. So tell us what you think about Polish plumbers.