The government is now paying over £1 billion a month on benefits claims to households with at least one foreign national, new figures show.
Households with at least one claimant who is a foreigner received £941 million in March his year, up from £461 million year-on-year, The Telegraph reports.
This increase represents almost a sixth of the month’s Universal Credit payments and cancels out the £1.4 billion the Government saved by cutting winter fuel payments.
Experts have suggested that the increase reflects a surge in the number of asylum seekers being granted refugee status in Britain.
Foreigners are eligible for UC and other benefits on the same terms as British citizens after being granted indefinite leave to remain or refugee status.
The latest figures come as Angela Rayner last week called for migrant benefits to be slashed and urged Rachel Reeves to make changes, after the Deputy PM challenged the Chancellor’s economic approach.
Bold proposals, outlined in a leaked memo revealed by The Telegraph, also suggested making it harder for immigrants to receive Universal credit.
Ms Rayner even said Labour should raise the fee migrants pay to use the NHS, in policies she and her team claimed were ‘contentious’ but still ‘worthy of consideration’.
The government is now paying over £1 billion a month on benefits claims to households with at least one foreign national
The latest figures come as Angela Rayner last week called for migrant benefits to be slashed and urged Rachel Reeves to make changes
Ms Rayner even said Labour should raise the fee migrants pay to use the NHS
Under current policies, introduced under the Tories in 2015, foreigners on work visas pay to access healthcare – a fee currently set at £1,035.
The ‘radical’ policies further included limiting access to the state pension.
The latest revelations come after Ms Reeves was hit with a triple blow to her authority.
The Deputy PM suggested launching the plans in the Spring Statement – and hoping to get them over the line by the Autumn Budget.
‘Migrants who have spent five to 10 years in the UK generally receive access to a broad range of welfare entitlements,’ a section read, as reported by the broadsheet.
‘Indefinite leave to remain in the UK confers access to core welfare entitlements such as Universal Credit, and 10 years of National Insurance contributions confers eligibility for some state pension provision.
‘Those who arrived in the UK during the period of very high immigration in the past few years will become eligible for indefinite leave to remain over the course of this Parliament.’
