Like every good mother, Angela Trajkowski wants the best for her two children.

 

She buys them new clothes and puts healthy meals on the table, while keeping the family's private flat, overlooking a park in a leafy provincial town, in perfect order.

 

Her nine-year-old daughter, Martina, attends expensive private lessons after school and her youngest, a four-year-old boy called Alan, will soon be old enough to go to the local kindergarten in the mornings.

 

Dark-haired Angela, 31, works long hours as an office supervisor but she still relies heavily on child benefit from the state to make ends meet.

 

Every week, she puts Martina and Alan in the back of her blue Renault Clio and drives the five minutes journey to the cashpoint at her local bank. There, she draws out the £33-a-week put into her family account by the British government. It totals £1,650 each year.

 

Yet this young Polish mother does not live in Britain. Her home is thousands of miles away in Lubin, a town near the picturesque city of Wroclaw in south-west Poland and close to the German border.

 

Angela is just one of thousands of women across Eastern Europe who, because of the crazy system of hand-outs dispensed by Britain's generous welfare state, are entitled to child benefit.

 

This week, ministers admitted that more than £1million a month in child benefit is going to the families of youngsters who live in the former Soviet bloc countries.

 

It was the first time that Labour has acknowledged that the money - funded by British taxpayers - is being paid abroad.

The revelation triggered a political controversy over the fact that the Government is paying for the upbringing of children who do not live in Britain and who may never even have set foot in the country.

 

It also underlines how our generous benefits system acts as a powerful draw for migrant workers. Moreover, this largesse is open to widespread abuse.

 

The Trajkowski family qualify for child benefit because their father works in London as a builder and pays his taxes. Like all migrants from the eight East European countries which joined the EU in 2004, he won the right to claim state benefits after working here for a year.

 

As well as child benefit, Angela Trajkowski's husband, Miroslaw, 33, is also eligible for £296 a month in tax credits because he has two children and his family's total income is £38,000 a year. He has just applied for the benefit and is unlikely to be turned down.

Indeed, even more money is being handed out in tax credits to East Europeans by the British government than in child benefit - although ministers say that information about the total amount now given to 40,000 foreign families is "not available".

 

Meanwhile 750,000 Eastern Europeans are registered to work in Britain today.

 

The Home Office expected just 13,000 and gave assurances that the migrants would be unable to exploit the benefits system.

Particularly perturbing is the element of trust which pervades these particular welfare handouts.

 

Although it is known that 14,000 Eastern European nationals are already claiming child benefit for offspring who live in their home countries, no British officials have ever visited Angela Trajkowski to check that her daughter and son really exist.

 

The money simply drops every week into the family bank account - no questions asked.

Controversially, on Monday last week, the biggest Polish newspaper in Britain ran a special edition bragging how easy it is for migrants to claim the benefits.

 

The front page article - under the telling headline Benefit Hunters - stated: "The longer we are here, the more rights to social security we are given and the better we are at taking advantage of them.

 

"You can apply for benefits as soon as you get a job in Britain."

 

Read whole article here : http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages/live/a...in_page_id=1770

 

 

The sum involved is trivial. As long as parents are only claiming benefit in one country, I don't have a problem with it. However, all EU governments should cooperate in investigating any allegations of parents claiming benefit in two countries.

The sum involved is trivial. As long as parents are only claiming benefit in one country, I don't have a problem with it. However, all EU governments should cooperate in investigating any allegations of parents claiming benefit in two countries.

 

WHAT?

 

this must be the worst ever response to a thread in here...

 

you dont mind YOUR money being paid out to benefit kids abroad?... get real! ffs! the ammount is trivial?... IS IT FOOK!

 

theres enough scroungers in this country i see no reson why we should pay for kids abroad too!

 

taxes raised in this country for the british welfare system should ONLY be paid to DESERVED claimants here. full stop. end of.

I hate reading about where my Tax is going! I hate paying tax full stop to support bast*rds that don't want to work. I'll push a kid out instead and get other peoples money!

 

Now reading it's going abroad as well. We should know where our money is going, by the sounds of this woman she don't need it either.

Well, it's no more ridiculous than rich people like the Beckhams being able to claim child benefit tbh... And IF these mothers are working here, paying their taxes and NI here, then frankly what's the big deal...? I cant really defend the paying out of money to folks who dont live and work and pay their taxes here though.. How do they even manage it???

 

In short - if you work here and pay taxes here, then you should be able to take the same advantages that some scummy chav who's never worked a day in their life or paid into the system gets... And let's face it, most of these chavvy types sure aint spending the Child Benefits they get on the kids - it's straight down the 'offie' for booze and ciggies..... <_<

 

Child Benefit needs to be Means Tested though, I'm a lot more disgusted by rich people being able to claim it than an average working person who lives and works and pays taxes in this country sending home money to their kid. I think if you're working here and paying your taxes here, it does afford you certain rights, which we would be right to expect in another EU country, if I was working in France or Germany and paying my taxes there, I'd expect the same rights to be afforded to me as a taxpayer.....

 

And I agree with Suedehead, an EU investigation should certainly be mounted to see if people indeed are claiming benefits in TWO EU countries.... That is a horse of a different colour...

what a joke, labour need rid of, and quick!

 

i have no problem with them claiming benifits as long as they live, work, and pay taxes in this country. and that goes for the whole family!

 

the law should be adjusted so that people can only claim child benifits if the child a) lives in this country. B) is registered with a school and c) attends this school regularly.

 

if they don't conform to the three criteria then they can go fu*k themselves.

 

i also agree it should be means tested

what a joke, labour need rid of, and quick!

 

i have no problem with them claiming benifits as long as they live, work, and pay taxes in this country. and that goes for the whole family!

 

the law should be adjusted so that people can only claim child benifits if the child a) lives in this country. B) is registered with a school and c) attends this school regularly.

 

if they don't conform to the three criteria then they can go fu*k themselves.

 

i also agree it should be means tested

 

EXACTLY!

 

 

Well, it's no more ridiculous than rich people like the Beckhams being able to claim child benefit tbh... And IF these mothers are working here, paying their taxes and NI here, then frankly what's the big deal...? I cant really defend the paying out of money to folks who dont live and work and pay their taxes here though.. How do they even manage it???

 

In short - if you work here and pay taxes here, then you should be able to take the same advantages that some scummy chav who's never worked a day in their life or paid into the system gets... And let's face it, most of these chavvy types sure aint spending the Child Benefits they get on the kids - it's straight down the 'offie' for booze and ciggies..... <_<

 

Child Benefit needs to be Means Tested though, I'm a lot more disgusted by rich people being able to claim it than an average working person who lives and works and pays taxes in this country sending home money to their kid. I think if you're working here and paying your taxes here, it does afford you certain rights, which we would be right to expect in another EU country, if I was working in France or Germany and paying my taxes there, I'd expect the same rights to be afforded to me as a taxpayer.....

 

And I agree with Suedehead, an EU investigation should certainly be mounted to see if people indeed are claiming benefits in TWO EU countries.... That is a horse of a different colour...

 

but she DOESNT work here or pay taxes here, she lives in poland with her kids and somehow on £37k gets benefits? christ i must be destitute by comparison!

 

i dont like the beckhams, but they pay taxes here so are entitle to benefits if they need them! in truth most rich people dont claim the child benefits that they are entitled to.

 

The article claims that this is costing around £1m per month. That works out at around 30p per taxpayer per year - a trivial sum.

 

It is a lot easier to get angry about people who claim non-domicile status to avoid paying tax. An example. A few years ago Philip Green paid himself £2 billion. Except he didn't pay it to himself, he paid it to his wife who lives here but is domiciled in Monaco. So, instead of paying approx £800m in tax, he paid nothing, leaving the rest of us to pay it instead. Thus, one man's greed cost the average taxpayer £20.

but she DOESNT work here or pay taxes here, she lives in poland with her kids and somehow on £37k gets benefits? christ i must be destitute by comparison!

 

i dont like the beckhams, but they pay taxes here so are entitle to benefits if they need them! in truth most rich people dont claim the child benefits that they are entitled to.

 

 

child tax credits are payable to parents with an income up to £50,000

 

The father pays tax and national insurance here - whilst not ideal - you would rather his wife and kids came to live here, add to that the cost of schools, health care, etc?

 

I prefer him getting child benefits than the feckless teenagers who have never paid a penny national insurance and tax and yet claim much MUCH more of my taxes in sit on their arses benefits!!!

Edited September 24, 200717 yr by ICR

i think any1 who sits around all day doing nothing claiming every benefit they can should be shot.

 

and their children 2, so we just remove the whole scrounging epidemic

The rest of the article is worth a read. I found this particularly interesting:

 

It is hardly the good life. "I am not seeing my children grow up and that is hard," he complains. "But the schools and the hospitals are better in my country than in England and I want the best for my children.

 

"When I visited a hospital in London recently, the doctors had dirty fingernails and the nurse did not know how to treat my infected knee.

 

Although to be frank, the article was of a very poor journalistic standard. The author inserts her own commentary without restraint and phrases like "our generous welfare system" or "crazy system of hand-outs" immediately discredit the source. Professional journalists don't write that and professional papers don't publish it (spare the editorial page).

i have no problem with them claiming benifits as long as they live, work, and pay taxes in this country. and that goes for the whole family!

 

the law should be adjusted so that people can only claim child benifits if the child a) lives in this country. B) is registered with a school and c) attends this school regularly.

 

Agree with the first part, but not the second.. I dont see what the problems are tbh with a kid being educated in another EU country as long as the parents are living here, paying their taxes here.... The state education system in this country is in an utter mess for the most part, if I had a child I sure as hell wouldn't a kid of mine educated in a school in the UK; I have family in Holland, I'd send them there to be educated more than likely, because the standards of education are far higher than in UK.. So, yeah, you're damn right I'd claim child benefits in UK (and anything else I could get my hands on...) and send it to my kid living with my aunt and uncle in Holland to pay for their upkeep, I pay my taxes and NI in the UK, so I should get summat out of it, and more importantly, so should the kid....

The article claims that this is costing around £1m per month. That works out at around 30p per taxpayer per year - a trivial sum.

 

It is a lot easier to get angry about people who claim non-domicile status to avoid paying tax. An example. A few years ago Philip Green paid himself £2 billion. Except he didn't pay it to himself, he paid it to his wife who lives here but is domiciled in Monaco. So, instead of paying approx £800m in tax, he paid nothing, leaving the rest of us to pay it instead. Thus, one man's greed cost the average taxpayer £20.

 

two wrongs dont make a right. the issue isnt 'why cant they get that when others are getting more', philip greens situation is a totally different topic. (and i agree that its obscene).

 

sorry but £1 million a month ISNT a trivial sum! that money could be better spent in the nhs here, giving better facilities or treatment to more deserving causes..... like the ww1 veteran here in derby who has no legs, blind in 1 eye, he had his home help stopped because of 'financial restrictions'. thats bloody barmy! plus thats £1 million on top of all the false claimants and scroungers that WE are paying for.

 

that money should NOT be going abroad.

child tax credits are payable to parents with an income up to £50,000

 

The father pays tax and national insurance here - whilst not ideal - you would rather his wife and kids came to live here, add to that the cost of schools, health care, etc?

 

I prefer him getting child benefits than the feckless teenagers who have never paid a penny national insurance and tax and yet claim much MUCH more of my taxes in sit on their arses benefits!!!

 

well i cant fault that! its high time this benefits culture was shook up. im sick of seeing my hard earned money going to those chav bast*rds who spend it on ciggies, drink and dope.

two wrongs dont make a right. the issue isnt 'why cant they get that when others are getting more', philip greens situation is a totally different topic. (and i agree that its obscene).

 

sorry but £1 million a month ISNT a trivial sum! that money could be better spent in the nhs here, giving better facilities or treatment to more deserving causes..... like the ww1 veteran here in derby who has no legs, blind in 1 eye, he had his home help stopped because of 'financial restrictions'. thats bloody barmy! plus thats £1 million on top of all the false claimants and scroungers that WE are paying for.

 

The reason why your veteran aint getting what he's entitled to is bugger all to do with benefit claimants and everything to do with the shambolic state of the NHS though Rob... The individual Trust is as fault here, you could give them an extra million quid, no bloody guarantee whatsoever that it would actually go on patient care though mate... Wouldn't surprise me if they were "misappropriating" Govt funds tbh, a lot of these NHS "Trusts" actually are.... <_< If fact, isn't the very fact that we call them "Trusts" a bit of an oxymoron...? You sure as hell can't put your trust in half of these b/astards that run them..... <_<

Agree with the first part, but not the second.. I dont see what the problems are tbh with a kid being educated in another EU country as long as the parents are living here, paying their taxes here.... The state education system in this country is in an utter mess for the most part, if I had a child I sure as hell wouldn't a kid of mine educated in a school in the UK; I have family in Holland, I'd send them there to be educated more than likely, because the standards of education are far higher than in UK.. So, yeah, you're damn right I'd claim child benefits in UK (and anything else I could get my hands on...) and send it to my kid living with my aunt and uncle in Holland to pay for their upkeep, I pay my taxes and NI in the UK, so I should get summat out of it, and more importantly, so should the kid....

i see what you are sayin, and you have a point.

 

having been through the Scottish education system, there are things that could be improved, but its not that bad.

 

my point is why the hell are we payin taxes 4 it too end up in an economy sumwhere in eastern europe, what use is that?

 

our taxes are supposed 2 be used in this country for the benefit of its citizens, not MP's Lunch bill's or child benefit 2 sum1 who doesn't even live in the damned country.

i see what you are sayin, and you have a point.

 

having been through the Scottish education system, there are things that could be improved, but its not that bad.

 

my point is why the hell are we payin taxes 4 it too end up in an economy sumwhere in eastern europe, what use is that?

 

our taxes are supposed 2 be used in this country for the benefit of its citizens, not MP's Lunch bill's or child benefit 2 sum1 who doesn't even live in the damned country.

 

I see your point, but seeing as how we're all part of the EU now, and all Europeans, I dont see it as a problem to live in one country and pay your taxes and have a kid in another benefitting from what might be a better education system there, it's still Europe innit..? We really need to think more in terms of Europe and beyond our own borders mate.. I mean, technically, moving from Scotland to England like I have is going from one country to another if you really think about it, Scotland does have its own system of law, its own tax-raising powers, its own Parliament - I benefitted from Scotland's education system also, and the fact that I got my University fees paid for me by the Scottish Education Dept; and now I live in London, so isn't that almost the same thing..? It aint a black and white issue mate, not by a long ways. Too many people are all too ready to respond with knee-jerk reactions and aren't really looking between the lines.....

I see your point, but seeing as how we're all part of the EU now, and all Europeans, I dont see it as a problem to live in one country and pay your taxes and have a kid in another benefitting from what might be a better education system there, it's still Europe innit..? We really need to think more in terms of Europe and beyond our own borders mate.. I mean, technically, moving from Scotland to England like I have is going from one country to another if you really think about it, Scotland does have its own system of law, its own tax-raising powers, its own Parliament - I benefitted from Scotland's education system also, and the fact that I got my University fees paid for me by the Scottish Education Dept; and now I live in London, so isn't that almost the same thing..? It aint a black and white issue mate, not by a long ways. Too many people are all too ready to respond with knee-jerk reactions and aren't really looking between the lines.....

 

we may be the eu, but our taxes should go into our economy!

 

either that or the whole of europe pays taxes into a big pot and its ditributed from there, taht way nobody can escape/complain

would it work the other way around?... could a bloke from here work in poland and have his wife claim polish benefits and ship them back here?