The Deputy Prime Minister urged Chancellor Rachel Reeves to pursue a raft of changes in a bid to avert spending cuts.
Angela Rayner called for a major crackdown on immigration, a leaked memo reportedly shows. The Deputy Prime Minister urged Chancellor Rachel Reeves to usher in a raft of changes as she strayed from her brief. In the secret memo first reported by the Telegraph, Ms Rayner and her team suggested Ms Reeves should consider limiting access to the State Pension for recently arrived immigrants.
They also put forward an idea to make it more difficult for immigrants to access Universal Credit welfare payments and to raise the fee which has to be paid to use the NHS. According to the Telegraph, the memo was a bid to persuade the Chancellor to look at alternatives to possible spending cuts.
Ms Rayner’s memo, which the Express has not seen, reportedly urges Ms Reeves to raise taxes and contains “more radical” ideas that could be considered “contentious” but were “worthy of careful consideration”. The memo said migrants who have spent five to 10 years in the UK generally receive access to a broad range of welfare entitlements.
It added that indefinite leave to remain in Britain confers access to “core welfare entitlements” such as Universal Credit, as well as 10 years of National Insurance contributions, which the memo said confers eligibility for some State Pension provision.
The document said those who arrived in the UK during the period of “very high immigration” in the past few years would become eligible for indefinite leave to remain over the course of this Parliament.
It continued: “The Spring Statement could announce a review of entitlements with a target saving to be delivered in time for the spending review or autumn Budget, and include Universal Credit and state pension entitlements.
“The review could also consider whether further rises in the Immigration Health Surcharge should be implemented (currently set at £1,035 and raising [circa] £1.7 billion a year).”
It added that figures from the Department of Health and Social Care show that amount “only just” covers the estimated average cost of treating patients who are migrants.
The Immigration Health Surcharge was introduced in 2015. It is a fee foreigners on work visas have to pay to gain access to healthcare provided by the state and is designed to help pay for their NHS care.
Since 2024, the charge has been £1,035, having risen from £200 in 2015, £400 in 2019 and £624 in 2020.
Ms Rayner’s memo doesn’t include estimates as to how much money would be saved as a result of the suggestions, according to the Telegraph.
Under current rules, immigrants with visas, apart from refugees, cannot receive most cash benefits. But this changes when they are granted indefinite leave to remain.
This is the first step towards becoming a British citizen and can only be done, in general, after five years of being in the country.