Tories Plan To Deny EU Migrants Out-Of-Work Benefits under Universal Credit

Ministers are preparing plans to bar jobseekers from the European Union from receiving all out-of-work benefits once the universal credit system is completely introduced. Although universal credit – a merger of as many as six separate benefits – is unlikely to apply to existing claimants until as late as 2018, it will apply to new claimants sooner. The government is likely to argue that restricting access to universal credit is not in breach of EU rules since it is not a benefit primarily designed to facilitate access to the labour market. As a result, it is believed that access to its out-of-work benefits could be restricted without interfering with the free movement of labour, a central pillar of the European Union. Read more on the Guardian website.