A NORTH-EAST academic has described a new ‘health surcharge’ for migrants as “full of loopholes”.

Professor Thom Brooks, from Durham University Law School, was responding to a Government announcement that migrants will be subject to the new fees next month.

The surcharge is £200 per year payable upfront, with students required to pay £150 annually.

The Government said it is set to recoup up to £1.7bn over the next 10 years to help pay for the cost of NHS treatment given to temporary migrants.

But Prof Brooks, professor of law and government at Durham University, argues that the health surcharge is an election stunt full of loopholes. The policy begins on April 6 – a week after Parliament is expected to dissolve and during a national election campaign.

Prof Brooks said: “Government rhetoric fails to meet reality. The public are told the surcharge will offset the costs to the NHS from treating migrants. However, thousands of migrants will not need to pay because of several exemptions and restrictions. It’s a clear case of Government saying one thing, but doing another.”

He points out that the health surcharge will only be imposed on non-EEA (European Economic Area) citizens in the UK temporarily for more than six months.

EEA citizens from Europe are unaffected. There are 11 different exemptions from the surcharge include anyone visiting the UK for under six months, intra-company transfers, children under 18 years in care, and nationals of Australia and New Zealand.

Prof Brooks, a member of the Labour Party, has concerns that the funding raised may not be used effectively:

He said: “Migrants paying the surcharge must do so upfront and the money collected is distributed to the relevant health department in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

"The problem is that migrants don’t always stay in the same place. If a migrant moves from England to Wales, the funding raised by the surcharge does not appear to follow the individual. This will mean the new funds might not go to the authorities that need it most.”

Prof Brooks argued that the surcharge might not support the NHS in the way it has been announced.

“The Government should stop seeing immigration as a political football and instead as a serious policy area that deserves more serious policymaking,” he added.

But Immigration and Security Minister James Brokenshire said the health surcharge “will play a vital role in ensuring Britain’s most cherished public service is provided on a basis that is fair to all who use it”.