Benefits are being claimed by over one million foreign nationals, costing over £7.5 billion a year, according to an analysis of Government figures, prompting calls for an overhaul of eligibility rules. The Telegraph has more.
Households with at least one foreign national claimant received more than £7.5 billion in universal credit in 2023, figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show.
Foreign nationals become eligible for universal credit and other benefits on the same terms as British citizens once they are granted indefinite leave to remain and have settled or refugee status. After paying national insurance for 10 years, they are also entitled to the state pension.
The analysis by the Centre for Migration Control (CMC) suggests 40 nationalities – after getting indefinite leave to remain, settled status or refugee protection – are claiming benefits at a greater rate per head of population than British citizens. Three nationalities – Congolese, Iraqis and Afghans – are claiming benefits at four times the rate of British people.
The disclosure of the foreign welfare bill comes ahead of an expected announcement by Sir Keir Starmer unveiling up to £6 billion of benefit cuts. He has described the system as “unsustainable, indefensible and unfair” but is facing the biggest rebellion of his premiership over the planned reforms.
The cost of foreign benefit claims excludes a further £5.4 billion for accommodating and supporting a backlog of more than 100,000 asylum seekers. That cost rose five-fold in five years under the last Conservative government.
The bill is likely to increase as 800,000 foreign nationals are expected to receive indefinite leave to remain in the UK over the next decade following record levels of net migration of up to 906,000 a year, according to a separate analysis by the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS).
The Tories have proposed that jobless and low-paid migrants should be barred from remaining indefinitely in the UK. They have also argued that the length of time before anyone who has come to the UK can claim such leave to remain should be increased from five to 10 years.
Chris Philp, the Shadow Home Secretary, said the benefits bill for foreign nationals was “unacceptable” and “astonishing”. “It is immoral that British taxpayers are subsidising nationals of other countries on an industrial scale. No wonder our taxes are so high,” he said.
“Research shows low-wage migrants actually cost other taxpayers money. This is why the era of mass migration has to end. I have tabled amendments to the Borders Bill to create a legally binding annual cap on immigration numbers and an increase in the visa salary threshold to £38,000 across the board.”
The CMC analysis is based on DWP data from 2019, which shows that there were 990,000 foreigners – 610,000 non-EU nationals and 380,000 EU nationals – who were claiming working-age benefits, an increase of 9% on the year before. This compared with 6.1 million Britons, which had only increased by 4% since 2018.
Worth reading in full.
Stop Press: Sam Bidwell says “the Boriswave Indefinite-Leave-to-Remain time bomb is about to go off”. More here.
To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.