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| EU migrants must earn £149 a week to claim benefits | EU migrants must earn £149 a week to claim benefits |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| European migrants coming to the UK will have to show they are earning at least £149 a week before they can access a range of benefits. | European migrants coming to the UK will have to show they are earning at least £149 a week before they can access a range of benefits. |
| The minimum earnings threshold, first announced last year by David Cameron, will come into force on 1 March. | The minimum earnings threshold, first announced last year by David Cameron, will come into force on 1 March. |
| It is the latest in a series of measures to restrict access to benefits for migrants from other EU countries. | It is the latest in a series of measures to restrict access to benefits for migrants from other EU countries. |
| Migrants have already been told that they will need to wait three months before claiming jobseeker's allowance. | Migrants have already been told that they will need to wait three months before claiming jobseeker's allowance. |
| The announcement comes as the prime minister has rejected claims by Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols that its wider welfare reforms are leaving people in "destitution". | |
| Social reform was giving "new hope and new responsibility" to people and was part of his "moral mission", Mr Cameron wrote in an article for the Daily Telegraph. | |
| Ministers argue that the longstanding principle that citizens of EU countries should be allowed to live and work in other member states does not amount to an automatic right to claim benefits abroad. | Ministers argue that the longstanding principle that citizens of EU countries should be allowed to live and work in other member states does not amount to an automatic right to claim benefits abroad. |
| They say it has become too easy for migrants from the other 27 EU member states to access public services in the UK, such as the welfare state and the health service. | They say it has become too easy for migrants from the other 27 EU member states to access public services in the UK, such as the welfare state and the health service. |
| The prime minister announced the plan for an earnings threshold at the end of last year, as he came under pressure from Conservative MPs to act before the lifting of work restrictions on Bulgarians and Romanians on 1 January. | The prime minister announced the plan for an earnings threshold at the end of last year, as he came under pressure from Conservative MPs to act before the lifting of work restrictions on Bulgarians and Romanians on 1 January. |
| Welfare Minister Esther McVey will announce the details of how it will work later on Wednesday. | Welfare Minister Esther McVey will announce the details of how it will work later on Wednesday. |
| 'Genuine workers' | 'Genuine workers' |
| At the moment, EU law defines a "worker" as someone whose employment is "genuine and effective". | At the moment, EU law defines a "worker" as someone whose employment is "genuine and effective". |
| Ministers think this definition is too loose, and they will apply a threshold of £149 a week - the level at which national insurance starts being paid - above which people will be eligible to get jobseeker's allowance, child tax credits, child benefits and a number of other benefits. | Ministers think this definition is too loose, and they will apply a threshold of £149 a week - the level at which national insurance starts being paid - above which people will be eligible to get jobseeker's allowance, child tax credits, child benefits and a number of other benefits. |
| Any European migrant who declares an income below the threshold, which will rise to £153 a week in 2014-15, will face further assessment of whether they are in the UK to undertake "genuine" work. | Any European migrant who declares an income below the threshold, which will rise to £153 a week in 2014-15, will face further assessment of whether they are in the UK to undertake "genuine" work. |
| If they do not pass this test, they will have to wait three months before becoming eligible for jobseeker's allowance. | If they do not pass this test, they will have to wait three months before becoming eligible for jobseeker's allowance. |
| Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said he wanted a "fair" approach that "provides support for genuine workers" but does not allow people to "take advantage of the system". | Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said he wanted a "fair" approach that "provides support for genuine workers" but does not allow people to "take advantage of the system". |
| European elections | |
| The BBC News Channel's chief political correspondent Norman Smith said the government was seeking to send a strong signal to those planning to come to the UK in the future that they cannot expect to claim benefits easily. | The BBC News Channel's chief political correspondent Norman Smith said the government was seeking to send a strong signal to those planning to come to the UK in the future that they cannot expect to claim benefits easily. |
| But the evidence, he added, suggested this was not a huge problem at the moment. EU figures suggest only 2% of people currently claiming jobseeker's allowance were EU migrants. | But the evidence, he added, suggested this was not a huge problem at the moment. EU figures suggest only 2% of people currently claiming jobseeker's allowance were EU migrants. |
| The move comes in the run-up to May's elections to the European Parliament, in which the issue of immigration is expected to be central and the UK Independence Party is hoping to make gains at the expense of the Conservatives and other parties. | The move comes in the run-up to May's elections to the European Parliament, in which the issue of immigration is expected to be central and the UK Independence Party is hoping to make gains at the expense of the Conservatives and other parties. |
| UKIP has warned of a massive "influx" of incomers from Bulgaria and Romania and called for new migrants not to be able to access benefits until they have been resident for five years. | UKIP has warned of a massive "influx" of incomers from Bulgaria and Romania and called for new migrants not to be able to access benefits until they have been resident for five years. |
| No official figures have yet been published for the number of Bulgarians and Romanians who have come to the UK since work restrictions were lifted at the start of the year. | No official figures have yet been published for the number of Bulgarians and Romanians who have come to the UK since work restrictions were lifted at the start of the year. |
| But Mr Cameron has suggested that the number of arrivals so far has been "reasonable" and he has rejected calls for restrictions to be extended for another five years - arguing this is not possible under EU law. | But Mr Cameron has suggested that the number of arrivals so far has been "reasonable" and he has rejected calls for restrictions to be extended for another five years - arguing this is not possible under EU law. |