Benefit claims by Eastern Europeans double in one year to £145m

Benefit claims by Eastern Europeans have more than doubled in the past year as migrants continue to arrive at the rate of 700 a day, ministers admitted.

The payments by the taxpayer are worth an estimated £145million a year.

The figures emerged in a blizzard of documents on immigration, asylum and foreign criminals published by Whitehall.

These also revealed that between July and September this year, a further 56,000 immigrants from Poland and the other seven countries which joined the EU in May 2004 have arrived - taking the total to 743,000.

In the past year alone, the number registering to work here - which does not include the self-employed or children - has increased by more than 220,000, a rise of nearly 50 per cent.

Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU in January this year and arrivals from those countries do not yet qualify for any workrelated benefits.

More than 30,000 Romanians and Bulgarians are now in Britain.

Total arrivals from the former Eastern Bloc between July and September this year were 63,655 - or 707 every day.

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Conservative immigration spokesman Damian Green said last night: "Yet again the Government's woefully inadequate estimate-on the number of migrants who would come here from the EU has been exposed, but it is the public service providers and local authorities up and down the country who are having to deal with the consequences.

"This is more evidence of the need for an explicit annual limit on the number of migrants who come here from outside the EU and the introduction of transitional controls on future EU countries."

Ministers insist most of those heading here are young men with no interest in receiving state handouts, who make an enormous contribution to the economy.

But there are now 129,000 people in receipt of tax credits, child support and other payments.

The rise is explained by the expiry of the Government's 12-month block on incomerelated payouts.

After a year working here, migrants are entitled to the same level of support as any British citizen.

Word has also reached Poland of generous benefit payments to Eastsaidern Europeans with children - including a rule which allows workers to claim certain benefits related to children even if they do not travel to Britain and remain in their homeland.

Many more migrants are bringing their children to live here, having initially settled alone.

There have been 1,189 successful applications for income support (worth £57.45 a week), 2,931 for jobseeker's allowance (also worth £57.45 a week) and 82 for state pension credit.

Some 78,850 are receiving child benefit and 44,647 are receiving tax credits. Some 893 receive housing support.

Home Office officials said citizens from the eight countries which joined the EU in 2004 are "contributing to the success of the economy, while making few demands on our welfare system".

Immigration Minister Liam Byrne,said: "It is too soon to evaluate the full impact of the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the EU, which is why we decided to maintain restrictions for at least another year.

"Our indications are that the policy of restricting access to the UK's labour market is helping to ensure that only those who have something to offer the UK are allowed to work here. We will continue to monitor restrictions."

He recently admitted the scale of immigration from Eastern Europe had "unsettled" local communities.

A Government-backed survey revealed that pressures were being placed on schools, hospitals and other public services.