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Benefits: Non-British Citizens

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Roberts of Llandudno, for securing this dinner hour debate. I should declare my interest as an employer of seasonal workers from other countries within the EU at different times around the year. They represent a small but significant percentage of our workforce, which changes with the seasons. Most of them go home as the work ends, although many return regularly. I might add that our workers from Poland and such countries are hard-working, conscientious and prepared to apply their intelligence to the job in hand. I can also assure noble Lords that we are an Investors in People company and care equally for all our staff. This debate is a sequel to last Wednesday’s Question asked by the noble Lord, Lord Roberts, which covered similar ground. However, I come to this subject from a very different direction from that of the noble Lord and, indeed, the noble Lords, Lord Judd and Lord Kirkwood. There is much concern about this issue. It cannot have helped the acute sensitivity of the subject when the Prime Minister chose to raise the issue of, "““British jobs for British workers””." If ever a soundbite came back to bite its owner, this was it. What does the Minister have to say on this? Similarly, the Immigration Minister, Phil Woolas, has said that entitlements to benefits should be for citizens of our country, not other people. Does the noble Lord agree? According to government figures, there are 199,667 non-British citizens in receipt of state benefits, including child benefit, jobseeker’s allowance and housing support. Given the current climate, does the Minister expect this figure to increase and, if so, what estimate has his department made of the increase? Of course, it is possible that the economic recession may persuade some migrants to return home, but there is an equal possibility that they might stay and become benefit dependent. After all, Tom Wlodarski of the East of England Polish Community Organisation said: "““Families are staying on, as they feel it is better to ride out the recession here in England””." Urszula Jukes, owner of the Polish recruitment agency Access Europe, said: "““For many the answer is to bring their family here where they can support them with the higher UK wages and government support. Families are almost always better off … as there is the generous welfare state””." This points to an increasing, not reducing, area of government engagement with this issue as a result of the recession. The numbers are significant. Home Office figures state that some 895,000 eastern Europeans have been allowed to work in the UK since the EU expanded to include the former eastern bloc nations of Estonia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. Of those who are officially registered, nearly 200,000 are in receipt of benefits. These figures go back to September last year and do not take into account the dramatic economic decline of the past few months and the massive job losses that it will bring. If the numbers are significant, so is the money. Can the Minister tell me the total amount paid in benefits to non-British citizens? It is not necessary for all those families to reside in the UK. Will he update the House on how much British child benefit and child tax credit is paid to Polish workers whose children live in Poland and say whether the Government have any plans to change the rules? I am pressing the Minister hard on this, because it is a sensitive issue and the Government can defuse this sensitivity only by being open about the scale of the problem, the issues involved and their intentions. The soundbite messages of the Prime Minister and Mr Woolas do not help the Government to gain the confidence of the British people. However, we should be happy that the noble Lord, Lord Roberts of Llandudno, has given us all the opportunity to debate the benefits of migrant workers. I look forward to the Minister’s reply and his response to my questions.