According to a report by the UK-China Network citing the Daily Mail, UK Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Iain Duncan Smith and Home Secretary Theresa May recently announced that starting this April, the British government will cut housing benefits for unemployed immigrants to prevent migrants from other European countries from flocking to the UK to take advantage of its superior welfare system. Furthermore, Duncan Smith and May criticized the Labour Party for opening the "door of convenience" to Eastern European immigrants seeking to enjoy generous welfare benefits.
Iain Duncan Smith and Theresa May also cited employment data from previous years to support their claims. Between 2005 and 2010, the number of employed local British residents decreased by 413,000, while the number of employed foreign nationals surged by 736,000. Duncan Smith and May stated that this phenomenon is a disgrace to the UK and also indicates that foreign immigrants have taken jobs from some British citizens; as most of them are engaged in low-skilled work, they have also driven down wage levels in the UK.
On New Year's Day this year, the British government issued emergency regulations stipulating that all new Eastern European immigrants must wait at least three months before applying for unemployment benefits. According to the latest regulations, new European immigrants who apply for Jobseeker's Allowance are no longer eligible for housing subsidies. If new European immigrants working in the UK become unemployed and apply for unemployment benefits, they can only apply for housing subsidies for a period of less than six months. Once the six-month housing subsidy period expires, new immigrants must submit valid proof of employment to continue receiving housing subsidies. In addition, new European immigrants can only apply for unemployment benefits for a maximum of six months unless they can provide authentic and reliable proof of employability.