"1.3 Million Foreign Migrants Now Claiming UK Benefits: Reform Pledges Complete Ban on Handouts"

A RECORD 1.3million migrants are claiming benefits in the UK, according to government figures.

has recently vowed a total ban on the handouts for foreign nationals, who account for over a third of claims.

Data released by the Department for Work and Pensioners revealed almost 1.3 million migrants were claiming UC in May 2026.

The staggering figure is up 20,000 from the previous year, with EU citizens making up half of the total foreign claimants.

Asylum seekers who have been granted refugee status and migrants with indefinite leave to remain or settled status are eligible for the handouts.

But Reform UK has recently proposed a major shake-up of the welfare system, which it slammed as “plain immoral”.

‘s party previously outlined its plans to stop foreign nationals claiming .

And proposals also extend to .

Treasury spokesman said the changes could save the Treasury some £50billion a year.

Mr Jenrick pointed to Britain’s soaring welfare bill, which is set to hit £407billion within the next four years.

In a speech on Monday, he said: “Forcing British workers to pay for the of foreigners is not just economically illiterate but plain immoral.

“British taxpayers cannot afford to subsidise everyone on the planet, especially those who have not paid in.

“The public have been crying out for this change for decades.”

But the plans would mean renegotiating the deal with as the ban would also include EU citizens with settled status.

has blasted Reform’s plan, saying it would “plunge the UK back into years of Brexit negotiations”.

A spokesman added it will “strip support from potentially millions of people who have lawfully lived, worked and paid taxes in Britain for years”.

It comes as UC claimants across the UK skyrocketed again to a record high of 8.4million.

The shocking figure is up 700,000 from the same time last year, despite Labour’s pledge to “get Brits working”.

It means the number of claimants is now at the highest level it has been since the introduction of Universal Credit (UC) in 2013.

But while the benefits caseload across the country has spiralled, the share of claimants in work has worryingly dropped.

Just 3.1million claimants were in in April 2026, which is just over a third (37.7 per cent) of all people on UC.

A year earlier, 3.2 million were employed, making up 41.9 per cent of the total figure.

Meanwhile, those in the “no work requirements” category has increased to more than half (51 per cent).

A DWP spokesperson said: “Nearly 80 percent of the increase in Universal Credit cases since July 2024 is driven by people moving from legacy benefits – a transition started by the previous government.

“We are already reforming welfare: narrowing the gap between Universal Credit standard and rates, restoring face-to-face assessments, and £3.5 billion in employment support to end the culture of people being signed off and written off.

“We have also introduced a Youth Guarantee which offers hiring incentives for employers, more apprenticeships for young people, 300,000 more work experience places and guaranteed paid work for the long term young unemployed.

“We’re putting work and opportunity at the heart of the system, with further reform to follow the Milburn and Timms reports.”