Welfare benefits for foreign nationals

Motion Text

That this House notes with deep concern the escalating cost of the UK welfare system, including widespread evidence that the current framework allows non-UK nationals to access taxpayer-funded benefits on an industrial scale despite having made little or no contribution to the Exchequer; further notes that the UK’s welfare safety net was established to support British citizens, not to subsidise recent arrivals from overseas; believes that permitting foreign nationals to claim Universal Credit, housing support, child benefit or other forms of state assistance acts as a significant pull factor for immigration and places additional pressure on already overstretched public services; acknowledges that many comparable nations require long, meaningful periods of contribution before any access to benefits is granted; and therefore calls on the Government to bring forward urgent legislation to prohibit all foreign nationals from claiming UK welfare benefits.