POLISH people in Britain claim nearly £1.8million child benefit a month — for kids living ABROAD, new figures reveal.
The handouts cover 26,000 children left behind by migrant workers, with few checks on whether the kids exist.
UK child benefit is £18.10 a week for the first child and £12.10 for other.
In Poland, the equivalent is means-tested and pays a maximum of £10 a month.
Meanwhile, about 3.8million British children live in poverty. Shadow family welfare minister Andrew Selous said: “We want this money spent on dealing with child poverty at home.”
EU citizens paying national insurance can claim child benefit in any EU country and are supposed to provide birth certi-ficates.
But Polish officials have been swamped by official requests to verify applications and say ministers are using a “pay now, check later” policy.
HM Revenues and Customs said the payouts were only a “tiny fraction” of the overall UK child benefit bill.
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