Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2016-02-19.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many migrants residing in the UK claim benefits on behalf of children living abroad; and what the value is of such claims by country of residence of the child.

Damian Hinds

The information is not available in the form requested.

The Government’s new settlement means that EU nationals whose children live abroad will ultimately receive Child Benefit at a rate that reflects the conditions – including the standard of living and child benefit paid – of the country where their child lives. This will restore fairness to the system. Meanwhile, Child Tax Credit is being phased out, and we do not have to pay the new Universal Credit for children living in other countries. That means as Universal Credit is fully rolled out, the only benefit we will pay for children living in other Member States will be the indexed rate of Child Benefit.