HC Deb 27 February 2004 vol 418 cc604-5W
Annabelle Ewing

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what plans he has to provide support to citizens of EU accession states working within the UK when they cease employment, from 1 May onwards; [156789]

(2) what plans he has to provide support for families of citizens of EU accession stales working within the UK when they cease employment, from 1 May onwards; [156791]

(3) what plans he has to allow citizens of EU accession states to claim, from 1 May onwards, (a) Working Tax Credit, (b) Child Tax Credit, (c) Child Benefit, (d). Disability Living Allowance, (e) Incapacity Benefit, (f) Income Support, (g) Carer's Allowance, (h) Jobseeker's Allowance, (i) Housing Benefit, (j) Council Tax Benefit and (k) minimum income guarantee while (i) living and (ii) working in the United Kingdom. [156972]

Glenda Jackson

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when citizens of EU accession states working in the UK will be entitled to claim(a) Housing Benefit, (b) Child Benefit, (c) Income Support, (d) Jobseeker's Allowance and (e) Working Tax Credit. [156935]

Mr. Pond

Our intention is to introduce legislation so that the accession state nationals who are in the UK but who cannot find work, or will not work, will not have access to Income Support, income based Jobseekers Allowance, Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit. After 12 months of working legally without interruption, citizens of EU accession states will be entitled to the full range of UK benefits. Tax credits and Child Benefit will be available to those citizens of EU accession states who are working legally in the UK; Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit may also be available to those workers on low income.

Incapacity Benefit and contribution-based Jobseekers Allowance are contributory benefits. People who have not lived and worked in the UK will not have paid National Insurance contributions and therefore will not normally have entitlement to these benefits.

For Disability Living Allowance and Carers Allowance, a person must have been resident for 26 out of the previous 52 weeks. However, time spent in another EEA or EU country may in some cases be treated as a period in the UK for the purpose of determining entitlement.