Forum Topic

Beenfits Britain

The headline f n article in the 'Telegraph' today reads, 'Migrants take four in five new jobs as benefits bill soars'. The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) found that the number of jobs recorded through PAYE increased by 3.7 million between 2014 and 2025. During the same period the number of largely British people receiving out-of-work benefits rose by 2.3 million. Annual spending on working age benefits has risen in real terms by £50 billion since 2019-20. It is clear that successive governments have relied on low skill immigration to fill jobs while millions of British people have been 'written off' by the welfare system.

Steven Rose ● 16d9 Comments

Welfare pays more than a job for 1m people on combined benefits.  Combining Universal Credit (UC), health elements, housing support, and PIP can sometimes result in a total benefit income that matches or exceeds an entry-level salary on the National Living Wage.  Unfortunately the more people rely on the state they are more than likely not going to want to change the status quo.Clearly the welfare system doesn’t work for the people who need it.

Robert Wheeler ● 15d

Mr WheelerApparently you can claim UK welfare benefits if you have one of the following -'British or Irish citizenship 'settled status' from the EU Settlement Schemeindefinite leave - unless you came to the UK on an adult dependent relative visarefugee status or humanitarian protectionright of abode'.If this is true one wonders why illegal immigrants are able to claim benefits including accommodation.The key point of course is whether even if you have such a status your circumstances prevent you working. ie you are disabled.The problem in practice is that checking these claims is often very lax.No face to face interview with say a 'doctor's note but often just filling in an online claims form.And we taxpayers pick up the bill.

John Hawkes ● 15d

So there are complaints about people working and paying tax and complaints about people taking benefits.Where are the complaints about the lack of education, training and aspiration of those leaving education, those leaving and returning to prison again and again - prison which has now become a school for crime instead of providing much if any teaching and training for those who have made a mistake or taken a wrong turn and ended up there?  Ex-prisoners used to be helped into work by probation officers and found accommodation when they left.https://www.novus.ac.uk/news/dyslexia-prison-education-rehabilitation/It is estimated that 30% of people in prison here in the UK have dyslexia - and that it is even more in America.  Many immigrants to the UK are better educated than those who have been born and live here.  Skimping on and skipping education here has been disastrous for many people.

Philippa Bond ● 13d

Schrödinger's immigrants: taking all our jobs while scrounging off our benefits  ...

Michael Ixer ● 13d

I don't think you have quite understood, Michael. Migrants are doing jobs which British people refuse to do, preferring to live on benefits instead.

Steven Rose ● 13d

Oh, I  do Steven. Others have complained about migrants coming here and immediately claiming benefits. My point was really that it's stupid to generalise and look at things in a binary fashion. It's more complex than that. Yes, many migrants are doing jobs that UK nationals don't want to do. (English is rather restrictive, isn't it?) But we also need some skilled people - nurses, doctors, techies - because of a failure to train - plus rotating some technical and managerial skill in both directions is good for knowledge transfer - something the big accountancy, consultancy and tech companies do.

Michael Ixer ● 13d

It is not a failure to train Michael. It is a strategy because it is fair cheaper to import lower grade qualified doctors and nurses from abroad than to train and recruit them here as our restrictive grade requirements for students on university medical courses prove.  So we are losing skilled and unskilled workforce.The cost to employ anyone now is so prohibitive that most employers will always go for the cheapest option.

Robert Wheeler ● 13d

Even if it's a deliberate strategy, it's still a failure to train.

Michael Ixer ● 13d

I think that you will find that many foreigners have trained here as well!  I also think there used to be more movement of trained staff between countries.  There were a lot more Europeans!  We also had British youngsters training in Europe.    There were more practical courses in Germany.

Philippa Bond ● 12d