The data, obtained from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), shows that £941 million in benefits was paid to households with at least one foreign national in March, almost double the £461 million paid in March 2022. The figure now represents 15.5 percent of the UK’s total Universal Credit payments for the month.
Experts have attributed the sharp rise to an increase in foreign nationals being granted refugee status or indefinite leave to remain, which makes them eligible for state benefits, including Universal Credit.
The figures are expected to reignite calls for stricter limits on welfare access for migrants. According to The Telegraph, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner urged Chancellor Rachel Reeves to consider raising the NHS surcharge for migrants and limiting access to the state pension as a way to tighten benefit eligibility. A memo obtained by the outlet revealed Rayner’s warning that high levels of immigration could lead to a continued rise in those qualifying for indefinite leave to remain, which would entitle them to state benefits.
Benefit claims by foreign nationals rose nearly 30 percent in just one year, up from £726 to £941 million. The surge in claims comes as the UK recorded record net migration numbers, with over 900,000 people arriving in 2023.
“The growth of benefit spending and the rate of migration are both much too fast, and the Government is doing far too little to change either trend,” former Tory health minister Neil O’Brien wrote in the Telegraph. “Migrants know that if they can make it to the UK, they will be allowed to stay. As long as that is true, we’ll see more and more coming. Our soft-touch welfare state makes this worse.”
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Keir Starmer introduced proposals aimed at reducing net migration. His plan includes extending the waiting period for indefinite leave to remain from five to ten years. Under the proposals, migrants would also only be allowed to “earn” citizenship sooner if they demonstrate a “real and lasting contribution” to British society.
