Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he has considered the potential merits of preventing foreign nationals from being able to claim universal credit.

Most migrants with temporary visas cannot access public fund benefits such as Universal Credit. Access is usually at the point of settlement, which for most people will be after they have lived in the UK legally for five years, and the Home Office plans to increase this to ten years. The Home Office is also consulting on changing the default position to maintain No Recourse to Public Funds at settlement and lifting this only at the point of British citizenship.

This year the Government also plans to consult on whether the residence tests in taxpayer funded benefits should be changed to prioritise access for those who are making an economic contribution to the UK. The consultation will look at how the benefit rules apply to those coming or returning to the UK.