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On every third Sunday of every month, Zoisa Fraser organises a social function at St Mary's Hall in Inverness, where Poles have the opportunity to meet indigenous Scots. For Fraser, a teacher and part-time translator, the number of volunteers who turn up to help is indicative of the welcome that has been extended to Scotland's latest immigrants.

"Scotland has been hugely welcoming," says Fraser, who chairs the Polish Association in Inverness. "The number of Scots who turn up to help has been tremendous. You get everyone from businessmen and employers to folk just looking to help, offering to teach Poles English or wanting to involve them in arts projects."

Three years ago, a combination of falling birth rates and outward migration from Scotland led many to talk of a "demographic time bomb" which would see our elderly population increase as the number of working-age Scots diminished. It was against this feverish background that the Scottish Executive's Fresh Talent Initiative was drawn up, aiming to revitalise the economy by drawing in young, skilled workers from abroad.

That this doomsday scenario appears to have been avoided is thanks largely to the arrival of some 42,810 workers from the eight EU accession states - mostly Poland but also a smaller number from Lithuania and Slovakia - between May 2004 and December 2006. While the time bomb is yet to be defused, it has certainly been recalibrated.

For Fraser, a second-generation Pole who was born in London and who moved to Inverness more than 20 years ago, the attraction for Scotland's new immigrants is obvious. "The Polish economy is really poor, and wages are very low. The possibility of young people owning their own homes is very remote."

Research by the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) appears to support the view of Scotland as a friendly place for immigrants - certainly compared to England. An assessment of Eastern European immigration by members of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee earlier this year also gave a largely upbeat reading of its impact, finding it had helped to drive down inflation and reduce the natural rate of unemployment in the UK.

But the recent influx from the new European Union accession states has not been without difficulties. A few weeks ago, for example, Fraser received a phone call to the Polish Association's emergency helpline from a young man who had arrived at Glasgow Airport with no money, no English and nowhere to go. "All he had was a phone number, given to him by someone in Poland, which turned out to be false," she says.

"Other problems have arisen with access to housing, schooling and translators. With such a large influx of immigrants it's difficult for local authorities to make provision in all these areas. Highland council has started to respond favourably but you're dealing with so many areas, it's difficult to cover them all. We have a housing problem here for the native population, never mind immigrants."

And while racial tensions appear cooler than in England, there have been instances of conflict. In Govanhill, on the south side of Glasgow, reports earlier this year suggested that groups of Eastern Europeans had clashed with members of the Asian communities there. Despite the city's strong record on integrating ethnic minorities, Positive Action in Housing, a charity that campaigns on race issues, complained that Glasgow's latest arrivals had been left isolated and without any support.

There are also questions over whether the inflow from Eastern Europe has solved Scotland's immigration problems. A review of the Fresh Talent Initiative published in November last year found that, compared to the rest of the UK, a high proportion of people arriving from the "new" European countries found lower-skilled jobs, largely in hospitality and catering and construction. Of those working in "high-end" skilled jobs such as administration, business and managerial services, only 3.5% went to Scotland.

the challenge, according to the review, is to attract more students and business people to Scotland. Since June 2005, more than 2200 international students have been allowed to remain in Scotland for at least two years thanks to a new postgraduate visa. But the FTI review acknowledges difficulties in persuading the Scottish business community to recruit foreign workers, claiming that many people do not see the need to employ people from abroad.

Professor Allan Findlay, an expert on migration and demographics at Dundee University, is positive about Fresh Talent. But he says Holyrood has been constrained by operating within a UK immigration policy and that the policy now needs to be better targeted at those it tries to attract.

"It's good to target students because they've already identified Scotland as a desirable destination. It's thoroughly appropriate to try to engineer policy tools to encourage these people to stay for longer. Other targets are more complex. You have to ask how effective tools are which are aiming to attract people to come here who have no interest in Scotland," he says. A downside of incentive schemes is that they may end up giving grants to people who would have moved here anyway, he adds.

As well as trying to persuade more Scots who have moved abroad to return home, Prof Findlay believes there may be potential in tapping the unused skills of people who have moved to Scotland from Eastern Europe. "If these people have skills which are not being used, they could add value to the Scottish economy. You have people who might have useful business skills who are currently working as hotel staff or washing dishes."

However, David Bell, a professor of economics at Stirling University, believes there may be a limit to Scotland's capacity to absorb more skilled immigrants. "There are barriers such as high fluency in spoken and written English. Scotland already has a very high proportion of graduates in the labour market, even higher than the UK as a whole."

Nevertheless, Prof Bell thinks there may be more scope for extending the time frame in which overseas graduates can stay in Scotland from two years, to encourage employers to give them appropriate training.

To an extent, the future of Scotland's immigration strategy will not just be decided up here, but will depend on the extent to which it can influence the new UK points-based immigration policy implemented from London, ensuring that the people allowed into the country are those whose skills match the needs of the economy north of the border.

One of the tasks facing the new administration is to decide what shape this strategy will take and, with the temperature of Scotland's demographic crisis having cooled, decide whether it is given the same political priority.

The reserved issue that refuses to go away
For the 4000 or so people in Scotland whose claims for asylum were rejected more than two years ago, the country's warm and welcoming reputation has been tarnished. After feeling they have settled here, they are faced with a meagre existence, the possibility of sudden, forced removal and continued uncertainty about their future.

In one sense at least, none of this need bother the Scottish electorate when it enters the booths on May 3: asylum, along with immigration, is a reserved matter which our parliament can influence to only a limited degree. But the issue has repeatedly refused to lie down since devolution.

The first time asylum hit the headlines was over the incarceration of children in Dungavel asylum removal centre in Lanarkshire. Then, in 2005, Jack McConnell intervened in the row over "dawn raids" on families by immigration officers, calling for a new protocol from the Home Office.

This was justified because, while asylum may be reserved, the treatment of children in Scotland is not. The issue was given further prominence when a group from Drumchapel High School, the "Glasgow Girls", waged a high-profile campaign against raids after a fellow pupil, Agnesa Murselaj, and her family were detained.

Most recently, Glasgow City Council has established a team to gather information on asylum seekers to prevent unnecessary distress if they face removal.

Ironically, some of the controversy over forced removals is a by-product of asylum seekers' successful integration into local communities - something the executive has been keen to promote.

Since 2001, more than £10m has been spent helping asylum seekers to integrate. Whether or not this has "radicalised" communities where asylum seekers have been housed, or has provoked even greater support for asylum seekers among the general Scottish public is a moot point.

Meanwhile, the Borders and Immigration Agency (BIA), which is responsible for asylum, says it has tightened up the system, ensuring that new claims will now be dealt within six months rather than several years. Phil Taylor, BIA's regional director for Scotland and Northern Ireland, says the new approach will be "firmer and fairer".

What the parties say
Labour
Supports a "robust and fair" immigration policy. Says Fresh Talent has encouraged diversity and brought newly skilled workers from abroad. Also claims to have led the way in integrating asylum-seekers to Scotland and is ensuring that enforcement of immigration plans is sensitive and sensible where families with children are involved.

SNP
Supports the introduction of a Scottish "green card" that is awarded to eager, qualified immigrants who come to Scotland for five years or longer. Will seek an enhanced role for the Scottish Parliament in the Shortage Occupation List.

Believes that devolving control of immigration policy would help lift pressure on the UK Home Office.

Conservatives
Don't have a separate immigration policy as it is a reserved matter, but supports the UK party's line.

LibDem
Supports administrative independence for the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (now relaunched as the Borders and Immigration Agency), and assigning border control to a separate agency. Independent assessment of the number of migrant workers needed each year with input from unions and CBI.

Green
Call for a more strategic view which would cover transitory migrants and economic migration. Believe that workers need to be persuaded to move to Scotland but Fresh Talent has failed to give Scotland an economic edge. The issue needs a clearer resolve, including repatriating legal powers over immigration from Westminster to Holyrood.

SSP
An immediate end to the practice of dawn raids, no more deportations. Would give asylum seekers the right to work. Supports giving Holyrood power over asylum and immigration. Would close down Dungavel and turn it into a museum of multiculturalism. Would grant citizenship to all people residing in a future independent Scotland.

Solidarity
Solidarity believes in an open, welcoming Scotland that encourages people to move here. It is opposed to dawn raids. The party also backs giving full support to new residents and offering education and training. Solidarity believes Scotland has a declining population and that fresh talent should be welcomed to renew the population.

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12:01am Friday 27th April 2007

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