Migrants in UK 'reliant' on benefits

By Duncan Gardham
Telegraph.co.uk

The degree to which new immigrants rely on benefits and council housing has been revealed by a survey that looks at how much foreigners contribute to the economy.

The league tables have been compiled by the Left-leaning Institute for Public Policy Research on behalf of Dispatches, to be shown on Channel 4 tonight. The figures come from the census and the quarterly Labour Force Survey.

Somalians rely heavily on benefits, according to the statistics - 80 per cent live in social housing and 39 per cent claim income support.

Nearly half of newly-arrived Turks - 49 per cent - rely on social housing, 52 per cent do not work and 21 per cent claim income support. However, 35 per cent are self-employed.

Other nationalities rely on sickness benefit – 10 per cent of those newly arrived from Pakistan claim it, along with nine per cent from Cyprus, and eight per cent from Kenya, Ireland and Jamaica.

Poles work longer hours for less pay and are paid less sickness benefit than almost any other group.

Nigerians are among the best educated, most likely to be working in the public sector and least likely to claim sickness benefit...... Read more.