This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/uk-16643677

The article has changed 12 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 7 Version 8
Migrants on work-related benefits study published Migrants on work-related benefits study published
(40 minutes later)
Work-related benefits were claimed by 371,000 migrants last year - the vast majority of which were legitimate, the first research of its kind has shown.Work-related benefits were claimed by 371,000 migrants last year - the vast majority of which were legitimate, the first research of its kind has shown.
The estimates suggest workers born abroad are less likely to claim benefits than UK nationals. The estimates suggest workers born abroad may be less likely to claim benefits than UK nationals.
A look at a sample of 9,000 claimants of certain nationalities suggested 2% were illegally claiming benefits.A look at a sample of 9,000 claimants of certain nationalities suggested 2% were illegally claiming benefits.
Employment Minister Chris Grayling denied scaremongering and admitted the full picture was not yet clear.Employment Minister Chris Grayling denied scaremongering and admitted the full picture was not yet clear.
Before the coalition government came to power the nationality of benefit claimants was not recorded.Before the coalition government came to power the nationality of benefit claimants was not recorded.
The government matched benefit, border control and tax records from 2011 for those who came to work, study or visit.The government matched benefit, border control and tax records from 2011 for those who came to work, study or visit.
The first detailed "data-matching" was carried out by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the UK Border Agency and HM Revenue and Customs.The first detailed "data-matching" was carried out by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the UK Border Agency and HM Revenue and Customs.
The research found:The research found:
  • As of February 2011, 371,000 people - out of a total of 5.5 million - claiming working-age benefits had been non-UK nationals when they first registered for a National Insurance Number. This group represented 6.4% of all claimants
  • Almost 17% of UK nationals were claiming working-age benefits
  • Of those born outside the UK, 258,000 were from outside the European Economic Area (non-EEA)
    •
  • Of this figure, 54% were now British citizens and most others had an immigration status that meant they were eligible for benefits
  • What the government calls working-age benefits include jobseeker's allowance, income support, carer's allowance and disability living allowance, among others.
  • As of February 2011, 371,000 people - out of a total of 5.5 million - claiming working-age benefits had been non-UK nationals when they first registered for a National Insurance Number. This group represented 6.4% of all claimants
  • Almost 17% of UK nationals were claiming working-age benefits compared with almost 7% of all those born abroad
  • More than half of those who were foreign-born had permanently settled and become British citizens.
  • What the government calls working-age benefits include jobseeker's allowance, income support, carer's allowance and disability living allowance, among others.
A follow-up sample looked at 9,000 non-EEA nationals, three-quarters of whose records were able to be matched. A follow-up sample looked at 9,000 non-EEA nationals. It found that 98% of them could legally claim benefits because of their legal ties to the UK. Approximately 125 people were thought to have no right to claim benefits and were being investigated.
Of those matched, 98% were entitled to benefits but 2% appeared to have "no lawful immigration status". Mr Grayling admitted the study showed the vast majority of foreign-born nationals claiming benefits were entitled to them.
The "small number" of cases is being investigated, the DWP said.
The government also said it was looking at ways to record nationality "at source" and at better tracking of the immigration status of claimants.
Mr Grayling admitted the vast majority of those claiming were entitled to the benefits, and denied the government was scaremongering.
"I think it's really important for the credibility of our benefits system... that we should understand the mix of people who come from other countries who are claiming benefits," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme."I think it's really important for the credibility of our benefits system... that we should understand the mix of people who come from other countries who are claiming benefits," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"We are now going to go through all the people who we've not being able to identify and we're going to repeat that exercise across the full 250,000 to have a system in which people can have confidence.""We are now going to go through all the people who we've not being able to identify and we're going to repeat that exercise across the full 250,000 to have a system in which people can have confidence."
The employment minister said he wanted to reduce net migration and ensure the UK system did not attract "benefit tourists".The employment minister said he wanted to reduce net migration and ensure the UK system did not attract "benefit tourists".
Keith Best, who used to run the Immigration Advice Service, said it was "very, very difficult" for migrants to claim benefits in the UK. But Scott Blinder of Oxford University's Migration Observatory, an expert study group, said: "It's perfectly reasonable for the Government to want to understand the interaction between immigration and the benefits system, but the way this has been reported has been problematic and significantly misleading for two reasons.
He said you have to have "status" to claim and you were not entitled if you came in as a student or on a work permit, for example. "Firstly, it has been publicised in manner that has created the impression that migrants are particularly likely to claim benefits, when even the report itself clearly identifies that migrants are substantially less likely to claim benefits that the UK-born population.
Earlier this month the government's official advisers on migration said there was a link between immigration from outside the European Union and job losses among UK workers. "Secondly, the report lumps together all "migrants" including British citizens who were born abroad - and who clearly have the same rights to benefits as all other British citizens - and migrants who have no legal claim to be in the UK at all."
The Migration Advisory Committee href="http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/workingwithus/mac/27-analysis-migration/01-analysis-report/analysis-of-the-impacts?view=Binary" >said there were 23 fewer UK jobs for every 100 migrants from outside the EU. Benefit rules are complex but in general foreign-born nationals in the UK must pass various tests to show they are eligble to claim working-age benefits.
But a separate report from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said immigration had had little impact.
MigrationWatch UK, which campaigns for tougher controls on immigration, said the evidence was unclear but something was "clearly not right".MigrationWatch UK, which campaigns for tougher controls on immigration, said the evidence was unclear but something was "clearly not right".
Chairman Sir Andrew Green told Today: "I'm very glad that ministers now responsible are saying in turns that the immigration system is in a serious mess."Chairman Sir Andrew Green told Today: "I'm very glad that ministers now responsible are saying in turns that the immigration system is in a serious mess."
He said the sheer scale of immigration put "huge pressure" on public services and there had been no link until now between the immigration and benefit systems.He said the sheer scale of immigration put "huge pressure" on public services and there had been no link until now between the immigration and benefit systems.
It was "absolutely absurd" that people from Romania and Bulgaria have been claiming benefits by claiming to be self-employed because they sold the Big Issue newspaper, he added.It was "absolutely absurd" that people from Romania and Bulgaria have been claiming benefits by claiming to be self-employed because they sold the Big Issue newspaper, he added.
Are you affected by the issues raised in this story? Should the benefits system be reviewed? Is it helpful to release these figures? Send us your comments using the form below:Are you affected by the issues raised in this story? Should the benefits system be reviewed? Is it helpful to release these figures? Send us your comments using the form below: