UK Benefits Scandal: 3.4 million new claimants are not British citizens
Rupert Lowe MP has tweeted what could be the beginnings of exposing a massive Universal Credit scandal. A scandal in which British taxpayers are funding an extraordinary number of foreign nationals which the Government has tried to keep hidden from public view.
Universal Credit is a government-funded benefit in the UK, paid in monthly or twice-monthly instalments to assist with living costs, with amounts ranging between £300 and £600, and potentially up to £800 – £900 or more per month when combined with other benefits. The benefit is available to those who are in work, on a low income, or out of work, with the amount received depending on factors such as income, work hours, and family status.
The benefits, funded by National Insurance (a tax paid by most UK workers to qualify for certain benefits and the State Pension), are paid out by the Department for Work and Pensions (“DWP”). DWP is responsible for the overall policy and administration including setting the rules, rates, and eligibility criteria for the benefit.
Public funds, including Universal Credit, are restricted for people with a “no recourse to public funds” condition on their visa, which can apply to those with permission to enter or stay in the UK, including those with spousal visas. Exceptions to this condition exist for certain benefits, and some people, such as British or Irish citizens, EU settled status holders and refugees, are generally eligible for benefits
Asylum support, including housing and money, can be provided to people and families while their refugee status is being determined, and once granted refugee status, they can apply for benefits and arrange housing.
The Habitual Residency Test is used to determine a foreign national’s eligibility for accessing benefits in the UK. The test is also applicable for British citizens who have returned from abroad to check their factual habitual residency in the UK.
Rupert Lowe, Reform UK Member of Parliament for Great Yarmouth, tweeted on 12 November an overview of statistics regarding the nationality of those who are passing the Habitual Residency Test to be eligible for Universal Credit payments. “I have been reliably informed by a central DWP whistle-blower, that these numbers of British citizens equal roughly 10% of overall tests passed,” he tweeted.
That means roughly 10% of those who pass the Habitual Residency Test and so become eligible for Universal Credit are British citizens returning from overseas and the remainder, 90%, are foreign nationals. As Mr. Lowe demonstrated in his tweet, this equates to just under 3.4 million foreign nationals being granted Universal Credit benefits from April 2019 to September 2024 – over 50,000 additional foreign nationals being approved to receive benefits paid for by UK taxpayers every single month.
In the video below. Daniel ShenSmith (also known as the BlackBeltBarrister) explains more.
Show Notes:
- Universal Credit, UK Government
- Guidance: Public Funds, UK Government
- Universal credit: Immigration and residence conditions, Shelter
- Guidance: Claiming Universal Credit and other benefits if you are a refugee, UK Government
- Tweet from Rupert Lowe MP copied below.
Tweet from Rupert Lowe MP, 12 November 2024
This is big news.
Despite the establishment’s best efforts to hide the statistics on the nationality of those claiming benefits, I believe that I have uncovered the true answer.
The Universal Credit Habitual Residence Test is used to determine a foreign national’s eligibility for accessing benefits.
It also includes British citizens, who have returned from abroad to check for ‘factual habitual residency’ in the UK. I have been reliably informed by a central DWP whistleblower, that these numbers of British citizens equal roughly 10% of overall tests passed.
Since April 2019, the total number of these residence tests that have been completed successfully? This is internal data from the DWP.
Minus the estimated British numbers … 3,379,500.
April 2019 to March 2020 342,900
April 2020 to March 2021 826,200
April 2021 to March 2022 941,400
April 2022 to March 2023 499,500
April 2023 to March 2024 479,700
April 2024 to September 2024 289,800
This means that over 50,000 foreign nationals are passing tests to become eligible to access and receive Universal Credit EVERY month.
If this is wrong, the DWP should come out and publish the full nationality breakdown of those claiming benefits.
This is a scandal.
The British public deserve to know the FULL truth.
