Immigration from Romania and Bulgaria: Government accused of 'farcical' strategy 28 January 2013 Last updated at 16:07 Government efforts to deal with a possible increase in immigration from Romania and Bulgaria next year "border on the farcical," it is being claimed. No 10 says it is looking at various options amid concerns among MPs about a rise in numbers when temporary controls lapse at the end of the year. But Labour MP Keith Vaz said simply trying to discourage people from coming to the UK would be "counterproductive." Ministers must deal with the reasons people would want to come, he added. The last Labour government agreed transitional controls on immigration from Bulgaria and Romania when the two countries joined the European Union in 2007, but these expire at the start of next year. The government has said it is impossible, under EU law, to keep the limits in place any longer. But ministers are coming under increasing pressure to act, from MPs concerned about the repercussions of any increase in arrivals for public services and commitments to cut net migration. One Conservative backbencher, Stewart Jackson, has said he would be prepared to introduce a bill in Parliament if a ministerial group looking at how to deal with the issue did not come up with a solution. Legal framework According to newspaper reports, Downing Street is considering restricting access to public services for future migrants, as one of a number of potential responses. Ministers would be better off working with their Romanian and Bulgarian counterparts and the EU to address the reasons migrants want to come here in the first place End Quote Keith Vaz Labour MP The Financial Times said Prime Minister David Cameron had instructed officials in No 10 and the Home Office to examine ways to make it harder for future arrivals to gain access to benefits. Options being considered, it reported, included asking immigrants who had not found a job within three months or did not have necessary funds to support themselves for six months to leave. No 10 said it was is considering options open to it, but a spokesman stressed there was a "clear legal framework" underpinning guarantees on the free movement of people within the European Union and "we have to operate within that." He played down suggestions that Britain might try to deter Bulgarian and Romanian arrivals by launching an advertising campaign in those countries stressing the negative aspects of life in the UK, such as the weather. Since 2007, Bulgarians and Romanians have been able to come to the UK as self-employed businessmen or women, or as students, provided they do not seek benefits or any other employment. But the end of existing controls will give Bulgarian and Romanians who want to work in the UK the same rights as foreign nationals from the other 24 EU nations. Ministers have warned against "scare stories" about a potential surge in numbers. But Mr Vaz, chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, said officials had failed to come up with an estimate of the number of arrivals expected, despite repeated requests. Propaganda He suggested there were divisions in government about how to deal with the issue and that spending money on "advertisements and propaganda trying to stop Romanian and Bulgarians coming to Britain borders on the farcical." "On the one hand, the Home Office doesn't want them in but on the other hand, the minister for Europe is saying there is freedom of movement," he said. The government is in danger of actually encouraging more people to come. These kinds of tactics have been used in the past and been found to be counterproductive. Mr Vaz said the question of whether foreign workers should have guaranteed access to public services, including the NHS, should be looked at, but he warned against "singling out" workers from individual countries. Ministers would be better off working with their Romanian and Bulgarian counterparts and the EU to address the reasons migrants want to come here in the first place. Campaigners seeking tighter restrictions on immigration have said about 50,000 people from Romania and Bulgaria will come to the UK each year until 2019 and that this will have "significant consequences" for housing and jobs. The government's own migration advisory committee says there is evidence Bulgarians would move to Britain because of its stronger economy, and it is "plausible" Romanians would come for the same reasons.