Welfare benefits for foreign nationals

That this House notes with deep concern the escalating cost of the UK welfare system, including widespread evidence that the current framework allows non-UK nationals to access taxpayer-funded benefits on an industrial scale despite having made little or no contribution to the Exchequer; further notes that the UK’s welfare safety net was established to support British citizens, not to subsidise recent arrivals from overseas; believes that permitting foreign nationals to claim Universal Credit, housing support, child benefit or other forms of state assistance acts as a significant pull factor for immigration and places additional pressure on already overstretched public services; acknowledges that many comparable nations require long, meaningful periods of contribution before any access to benefits is granted; and therefore calls on the Government to bring forward urgent legislation to prohibit all foreign nationals from claiming UK welfare benefits.