According to a new report, immigrants to the UK since 2000 have made a significant contribution to public finances.

The study by University College London said that the recent immigrants were much less likely to claim benefits and live in social housing than the people who were born in the UK. They said that instead of being a drain on the economy, the recent immigrants have been strong contributors to the UK’s economy. The government has said that it is justified in making touch rules to protect the benefits system.

The report showed that immigrants who arrived after 1999 were 45% less likely to receive state benefits or tax credits than those who were born in the UK in the period 2000-2011, said Prof Christian Dustmann and Dr Tommaso Frattini from UCL's Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration. The report also showed that the European Economic Area (EEA - the EU plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) had made a strong contribution to the UK finances.

“These differences are partly explainable by immigrants' more favourable age-gender composition. However, even when compared to natives with the same age, gender composition, and education, recent immigrants are still 21% less likely than natives to receive benefits,” the authors say.