>They have allowed £30 million of child benefit to be paid to families living in the EU"Is the Government sending £36 million of child benefits abroadMany of these non-UK EEA residents will be paying taxes to the UK Treasury so it’s not accurate to draw a distinction between UK taxpayers and these benefit recipients. In fact, many will be entitled to claim Child Benefit because they work in the UK and, at least in theory, have paid into the social security system.According to Ms Patel, the fact that EU residents can claim Child Benefit is “an abuse of the benefits system”. However, there is another side to the ledger, which neither Ms Patel nor the Daily Star refer to: we don’t know how much these individuals contribute to the Exchequer. What’s more, Mr Gauke explicitly states that the government does not calculate the cost to the Treasury of EU nationals claiming Child Benefit. This is in part because “not all such awards are made at full UK rates”. In place of official statistics, the Daily Star has generated its own cost analysis. But, as we have shown, this is inevitably flawed."https://fullfact.org/factchecks/uk_spending_millions_child_benefit_EU_nationals-28553
Paul James ● 4354d