The Daily Telegraph suggests households with one or more foreign claimants received £941m in March this year, up from £461m in March 2022.
The DWP said joint claims that include at least one non-British or Irish national will be classed as foreign, even if other members of the household are British nationals.
Neil O’Brien, a former Tory health minister who uncovered the data, said: “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.
The policy was one of the first major announcements of the new Government last year (Photo: Peter Byrne/PA)
The article suggests the figures will reinforce calls for restrictions on benefits for migrants.
“Since last July, we have reduced the proportion of benefit payments to nationals outside the British Isles.
While the number of foreign nationals on benefits has increased in the past three years, according to the Government it has decreased since Labour took office last July.
Claim: Funding two months of benefits for households with foreign nationals cancels out the £1.4 billion the government saved by axing winter fuel payments
The winter fuel payment is a lump sum of £200 a year for households with a pensioner under 80, or £300 for households with a pensioner over 80.
Up to 10.8 million pensioners lost out last year after the government restricted eligibility to those who qualify for pension credit, external and other income-related benefits, to save an estimated £1.3bn. It is thought the saving could rise to £1.5bn in subsequent years.
“Refugees and non-UK or Irish citizens can only access these payments once their immigration status is formally verified by the Home Office, and they satisfy strict tests.”
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Claim foreign nationals received £1bn a month in benefits, fact-checked )
Also on site :