The plan will be to limit ways how immigrants will be able to access the benefits system. This will include access to free healthcare from the NHS housing
Mr Cameron told MPs he had already chaired a committee meeting in Whitehall about the review, which is being led by immigration minister Mark Harper.
He was responding to a question from Tory MP Mark Spencer, who had declared that the welfare state and NHS exist to support Britons who “fall on difficult times”.
“Will the Prime Minister assure the house that he will not allow them to abused by illegal immigrants and nationals who are coming here as benefit tourists?” he asked.
Mr Cameron replied: “Britain has always been an open and welcoming economy but it isn’t right if our systems are being abused.
“That is why I chaired yesterday a committee meeting in Whitehall which the minister for immigration is leading.
“We are going to look at every single one of our systems – housing, health, benefits – to make sure that we are not a soft touch for those who want to come here. I think it is absolutely vital that we get this right.
The question that comes up again and again regarding immigration and illegal immigrants is how they are allowed to do it considering the immigration system in Britain is tight.Even when you want your family to visit UK for a short Christmas holiday, there are lots of papers to fill in and go to the Embassy of the desired country to get the documents that you require for the person to visit and you also have to state in their letter, how long a person will visit and sometimes even mention how you’re going to afford their visit to the United Kingdom.
“There are many parts of our current arrangements which simply don’t pass a simple common sense test in terms of access to housing, access to the health service, access to justice and other things which should be the right of all British citizens but they are not the right of anyone who just chooses to come here.”
Mr Cameron summoned Home Secretary Theresa May, Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith and Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to the meeting on Tuesday.
Mr Harper has been asked to work with other ministers to come up with ideas about how to limit benefits for immigrants to avoid further stretching the system.
Possibilities include restricting NHS access by making working migrants take out private insurance and making them leave if they do not find a job within three months.
The Prime Minister’s direct intervention shows how important he considers the issue, with immigration consistently one of voters’ top concerns.
The review comes as the Government is under pressure over the number of Bulgarians and Romanians who could come to Britain when restrictions are lifted in December.
It has been predicted that 250,000 people could flock here from the two countries over the next five years but ministers are refusing to give their own estimate.
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