Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-05-23.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the cost of providing public services for EU nationals who remain in the UK for less than one year.
Greg Hands
No estimate has been made of the cost of providing public services for EU nationals who remain in the UK for less than one year.
The Government’s ambition is to reduce permanent migration into this country to a more manageable level.
We remain committed to bringing migration down to sustainable levels, which is in the best interests of our country. The Government has taken steps to control migration by dealing with those who shouldn’t be here, by deporting illegal immigrants and improving the skills of British workers, so we reduce the demand for skilled migrants.
The Prime Minister has re-negotiated the UK’s position within the EU to close back-door routes into the UK and exert greater control over EU migration by tackling the draw of our welfare system.
But net migration remains too high and there is still more work to do.
Data recently released by HMRC showed recently-arrived EU migrants paid £2.5 billion more in tax than they received in tax credits or child benefit in 2013/14.