Health and Social Service Benefit (Hansard, 21 June 1988)

§ Mrs. Currie

All people ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom are eligible to use the full range of NHS facilities and the personal social services regardless of their own nationality. For health benefit the position in respect of temporary visitors from overseas depends on country of origin. All citizens of EC countries who are resident in the Community may obtain immediately necessary treatment for health conditions arising during a visit on the same terms as residents of the host country, by virtue of the EC social security regulations; this includes Irish visitors to the United Kingdom and United Kingdom visitors to Ireland. Similar arrangements for immediately necessary treatment exist for visitors from Australia, Malta and New Zealand, member countries of the Commonwealth with which the United Kingdom has concluded bilateral health care agreements. Visitors from other Commonwealth countries must pay for treatment received in the United Kingdom though they may do so through private insurance. United Kingdom citizens resident in Ireland are covered by the Irish health care scheme.

Entitlement to income support (social service benefit) is dependent on immigration status. People from Commonwealth countries who are accepted for permanment settlement here are entitled to income support in the same way as United Kingdom citizens. Temporary visitors (students, tourists, business people) however, are only admitted if the immigration officer is satisfied that they will not have recourse to public funds.

There are no immigration controls between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Consequently Irish citizens can claim income support in the same way as British citizens, and similarly British citizens can claim social welfare whilst in Ireland on the same terms as Irish citizens.