secret.simon wrote: ↑Mon May 15, 2023 5:45 am
Commons debate on No Recourse to Public Funds - 11th May 2023
Note that it was a Back-Bench Business motion sponsored by a Labour MP, so it is unlikely to lead to a change in the law.
It is a pity that only a handful of MPs (about 10, including the sponsor, the spokespersons of the SNP, Labour and the minister) spoke in the debate.
I'm not surpised it was only 10 MPs.
The MPs voted in the welfare reforms to stop UK's welfare state being an attraction to the low skilled migrants. About 2007/8, the UK's welfare bill had now become more than the government took in income tax. In 2010, HMRC reported that over 5 billion a year was being given in the Tax Credit welfare benefit alone, just to those who were not a British citizen when they applied for a NINo. A Labour MP pointed out that the Tax Credits was a poverty trap. In 2011 they started to record the nationalities of welfare claimants. New welfare laws were voted in and Universal Credit replaced the low income welfare benefits. Tax Credit will end this year to those still on that old welfare benefit
In 2015 the UK government was able to announce that now France, Germany and Sweden gave more benefits than the UK does.
With all the welfare changes since and the annoucements his year about more welfare changes, nothing suggests there will be changes. The UKs view is if they have a work visa, then they can work. The same with more welfare changes planned this year: parents can work; more focus on what somebody who states they can't work, can do.
