Over one million migrants benefited from the UK's universal credit welfare scheme at the expense of £7.6 billion taxpayers in 2023 alone, analysis of official data found.
The forecast based on Work Pension (DWP) data implemented by the Labor and Pension Centre (CMC) estimates that approximately 1,158,000 foreigners received monthly welfare subsidies paid to low-income working-age households to reduce housing, childcare and other costs. Migrants are eligible for the same benefits as British people after being granted either refugee status or indefinite leave to remain in the country.
A request for freedom of information from think tanks has revealed that households with at least one foreign resident received a total of £7.6 billion in universal credit in 2023. Telecommunications It has been reported. The CMC said this is likely to continue to increase given the record number of foreigners enrolled in the UK under the former Tory government.
This welfare money paid to immigrants does not include payments and accommodation provided to those awaiting a total of £5.4 billion asylum claims in the same year.
Shadow Interior Secretary Chris Philp said benefits figures are “unacceptable” and “it's immoral that UK taxpayers subsidize citizens of other countries on an industrial scale. It's no wonder our taxes are so high.”
“According to the research, low-wage immigration actually costs other taxpayers money. That's why the era of mass immigration has to end. I presented an amendment to the border bill, increasing the legally binding annual cap on immigrants and the increase in visa salary thresholds across the board to £38,000,” he said.
The Immigration Control Centre noted that the likelihood of immigrants receiving benefits varies dramatically depending on the country they came from, with 40 nationalities likely to receive universal credit than British citizens. Based on the latest census data for 2021, immigrants from the Congo were most likely to receive such benefits, with 445 claims per 1,000 people.
Congolese immigrants are 434 per 1,000 people, 414 Afghans, 361 Algerians, 355 Eritreans, 352 Syrians, 336 Somalis, 334 Iranians, 286 Moroccans and 283 Slovaks claim 100 credits.
In terms of raw numbers, Polish immigrants represented the largest foreign cohort that benefited from universal credit, with 89,040 claimants. This was followed by 85,881 Pakistanis, 54,589 Bangladesh, 45,727 Romanians, 33,561 Indians, 32,063 Portuguese, 23,627 Nigerians and 17,933 Irish nationals.
Carl Williams, research director at the Center for Policy Research, suggested that the government should try to implement “a much more selective immigration system where immigrants are likely to become significant net contributors.”
A similar call has been made in response to a study that certain migrant groups are far more likely to commit serious crimes than British citizens.
Another report from the Immigration Control Centre, released earlier this month, found that immigrants from North Africa are 6.6 times more likely to be convicted of sexual offences than Brits, while the Middle East is 3.8 times more likely, and sub-Saharan Africans are 2.6 times more likely.
