-:Undertaker:-
05-03-2013, 04:34 PM
Britain faces a 'crisis' as it battles against Brussels demands to offer benefits to MORE migrants from the EU
- Labour accused of leaving a benefits test which is not fit for purpose
- European Commission wants to remove residency test for newcomers to prove they are eligible for handouts
- Ministers are drawing up emergency measures to deter Romanians and Bulgarians from moving to Britain as benefit tourists
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/03/05/article-0-16910633000005DC-421_306x423.jpg
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith accused Labour of leaving a system which was not fit for purpose
Britain is in the grip of a ‘crisis’ over demands from Brussels to allow all newcomers to claim benefits immediately, Iain Duncan Smith warned today.
The Work and Pensions Secretary wants to bolster the habitual residency test to prove they live here to make it harder for migrants to prove they are entitled to benefits.
But he told MPs the coalition is ‘fighting a rearguard action’ against the European Union after inheriting a botched system from Labour.
The row comes as ministers draw up a package of emergency measures to deter Romanian and Bulgarian migrants from flocking to Britain when limits are lifted next year.
Mr Duncan Smith has warned that if the residency test was abolished altogether it could cost £155million.
It would mean the government having to pay benefits to anyone who arrives in the UK, without having to prove that they have been working or are eligible to live here.
At present EU migrants must pass a habitual residency test but to do so they do not need to prove that they plan to stay here for any period of time.
Britain also funds child benefit for 40,000 children who do not even live here.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/03/05/article-0-05FD794B0000044D-985_634x400.jpg
Limiting the availability of social housing to local people who have a connection to the area concerned would rule out newcomers from Bucharest or Sofia
Mr Duncan Smith told the Commons: ‘There is somewhat of a crisis over this. For the last two years I have been fighting a rearguard action over what was left to me by the last government.
‘The reality is that it is all right for [Labour] to moan but let's put the facts as they are - I inherited a habitual residency test which simply isn't fit for purpose. We are trying to tighten that up dramatically and I am being infracted at the moment by the European Union for doing that.
‘But you are absolutely right, and I am with you on this, to describe this as a crisis.’
By claiming self-employed status, migrant workers could claim tax credits from the UK, he told MPs, adding that, under the Labour government, net migration stood at 2.2 million people, which is larger than the population of Birmingham.
Mr Duncan Smith said the system was 'falling down' in some areas but other EU countries were angry about the problem, including Germany, which had 'woken up at last' to the issue.
He added that the Government is trying to 'lock people out' who came to the UK 'solely' for the purpose of claiming benefits.
'What we are trying to do is to figure out the rules that allow us to prevent individuals from staying in the UK for only a short time before claiming benefits, a rule which existed under the last government.'
He was responding to an urgent Commons question from former Labour welfare minister Frank Field, who said the current situation was the result of a crisis which successive governments had failed to deal with properly.
Further restrictions needed to be placed on universal credits to stop EU migrants claiming benefits, he said, telling the Commons that GPs were still taking on migrants even if they had been here for only 24 hours.
Meanwhile, local councils had a duty to publish data on whether social housing was being offered to non-British citizens, Mr Field said.
Many Romanian and Bulgarian immigrants had already come to the UK ahead of transitional arrangements being relaxed on January 1 next year, which will allow them to freely work in the country under their membership of the EU.
Mr Field said: 'As there are already 150,000 Romanians and Bulgarians here quite legally, and they are arriving here at 25,000 a month or more, do you not accept that the answer you have just given us will somewhat prove ineffective against the movement that might well come after January 1?'
A few things,
1) The Government can't actually limit benefits in any meaningful way as it'll be struck down by the EU.
2) Why are we still sending child benefit to 40,000 children who don't live here (and indeed, why were we paying it in the first place?).
3) Even if welfare checks were brought in, it still wouldn't stop them being entitled to free use of the NHS and others public services that we pay for, and they do not.
4) The poverty level in Bulgaria and Romania is so low that to be poor in this country is much better than being poor over there, so do you think they'll stay over there or come here?
5) If you think immigrant-related crime is bad enough now, you ain't seen nothing yet when it comes to these two countries.
And yet it continues despite the majority of British people wanting a sensible immigration policy like Canada, New Zealand etc.
Why?
Thoughts?
- Labour accused of leaving a benefits test which is not fit for purpose
- European Commission wants to remove residency test for newcomers to prove they are eligible for handouts
- Ministers are drawing up emergency measures to deter Romanians and Bulgarians from moving to Britain as benefit tourists
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/03/05/article-0-16910633000005DC-421_306x423.jpg
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith accused Labour of leaving a system which was not fit for purpose
Britain is in the grip of a ‘crisis’ over demands from Brussels to allow all newcomers to claim benefits immediately, Iain Duncan Smith warned today.
The Work and Pensions Secretary wants to bolster the habitual residency test to prove they live here to make it harder for migrants to prove they are entitled to benefits.
But he told MPs the coalition is ‘fighting a rearguard action’ against the European Union after inheriting a botched system from Labour.
The row comes as ministers draw up a package of emergency measures to deter Romanian and Bulgarian migrants from flocking to Britain when limits are lifted next year.
Mr Duncan Smith has warned that if the residency test was abolished altogether it could cost £155million.
It would mean the government having to pay benefits to anyone who arrives in the UK, without having to prove that they have been working or are eligible to live here.
At present EU migrants must pass a habitual residency test but to do so they do not need to prove that they plan to stay here for any period of time.
Britain also funds child benefit for 40,000 children who do not even live here.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/03/05/article-0-05FD794B0000044D-985_634x400.jpg
Limiting the availability of social housing to local people who have a connection to the area concerned would rule out newcomers from Bucharest or Sofia
Mr Duncan Smith told the Commons: ‘There is somewhat of a crisis over this. For the last two years I have been fighting a rearguard action over what was left to me by the last government.
‘The reality is that it is all right for [Labour] to moan but let's put the facts as they are - I inherited a habitual residency test which simply isn't fit for purpose. We are trying to tighten that up dramatically and I am being infracted at the moment by the European Union for doing that.
‘But you are absolutely right, and I am with you on this, to describe this as a crisis.’
By claiming self-employed status, migrant workers could claim tax credits from the UK, he told MPs, adding that, under the Labour government, net migration stood at 2.2 million people, which is larger than the population of Birmingham.
Mr Duncan Smith said the system was 'falling down' in some areas but other EU countries were angry about the problem, including Germany, which had 'woken up at last' to the issue.
He added that the Government is trying to 'lock people out' who came to the UK 'solely' for the purpose of claiming benefits.
'What we are trying to do is to figure out the rules that allow us to prevent individuals from staying in the UK for only a short time before claiming benefits, a rule which existed under the last government.'
He was responding to an urgent Commons question from former Labour welfare minister Frank Field, who said the current situation was the result of a crisis which successive governments had failed to deal with properly.
Further restrictions needed to be placed on universal credits to stop EU migrants claiming benefits, he said, telling the Commons that GPs were still taking on migrants even if they had been here for only 24 hours.
Meanwhile, local councils had a duty to publish data on whether social housing was being offered to non-British citizens, Mr Field said.
Many Romanian and Bulgarian immigrants had already come to the UK ahead of transitional arrangements being relaxed on January 1 next year, which will allow them to freely work in the country under their membership of the EU.
Mr Field said: 'As there are already 150,000 Romanians and Bulgarians here quite legally, and they are arriving here at 25,000 a month or more, do you not accept that the answer you have just given us will somewhat prove ineffective against the movement that might well come after January 1?'
A few things,
1) The Government can't actually limit benefits in any meaningful way as it'll be struck down by the EU.
2) Why are we still sending child benefit to 40,000 children who don't live here (and indeed, why were we paying it in the first place?).
3) Even if welfare checks were brought in, it still wouldn't stop them being entitled to free use of the NHS and others public services that we pay for, and they do not.
4) The poverty level in Bulgaria and Romania is so low that to be poor in this country is much better than being poor over there, so do you think they'll stay over there or come here?
5) If you think immigrant-related crime is bad enough now, you ain't seen nothing yet when it comes to these two countries.
And yet it continues despite the majority of British people wanting a sensible immigration policy like Canada, New Zealand etc.
Why?
Thoughts?