EUROPE

Cameron’s benefit curbs hit only 10% of new migrants

David Cameron has negotiated restrictions of the payment of in-work benefits such as tax credits for the first four years after an EU citizen arrives in the UK
David Cameron has negotiated restrictions of the payment of in-work benefits such as tax credits for the first four years after an EU citizen arrives in the UK
STEFAN ROUSSEAU/PRESS ASSOCIATION WIRE

Only 10 to 20 per cent of newly arrived European Union migrants are receiving tax credits, according to a report that appears to expose the limitations of the prime minister’s renegotiation with Brussels.

The curbs on in-work benefits negotiated by David Cameron are unlikely to lead to a reduction in the number of migrants heading to Britain, it added.

It said that as few as one in ten new migrants would have been affected by the planned curbs if they had been in place in the four years to 2014.

The findings of the report by Oxford University’s Migration Observatory are a blow to Mr Cameron as the EU referendum campaign enters its final 50 days.

The European Commission is preparing to announce that EU