Foreigners coming to Britain are to face a new "immigrant tax" under Government plans to try to make them help pay for the schools and hospitals they use, ministers are to announce.
....The announcement follows growing evidence that health, education and social services are coming under increasing strain from immigration, with councils complaining that they need hundreds of millions of pounds more every year to cope.Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, will announce that those immigrants assessed to be more of a burden on the state will have to pay a higher levy.
It means older applicants - who are likely to need more health care for example - will pay more than young, skilled workers.
MPs in areas where immigrant numbers have risen in recent years - particularly from eastern Europe - complain that services are near breaking point.
But critics warned last night that the move would not generate anywhere near the sums needed to cover the cost of providing health care and education to hundreds of thousands of immigrants.
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