Senior government sources are working on plans to stop migrants from getting tax credits and other in-work benefits, according to a Times report on Monday.

If enacted, May can fulfill David Cameron’s last year temporary compromise the then-premier negotiated with the rest of the EU.

The deal, which could block the benefits, was abolished when British people voted to leave the bloc in June 2016.

It would affect 316,000 people already in the UK who are in receipt of the benefits.

It is thought that constraints on EU migration are contested within the Conservative cabinet, with pro-business politicians expressing concern that curbs could badly affect employers’ ability to hire overseas workers, which in return impacts profit margins and productivity.

However, others within the party believe restrictions on EU migrants will ameliorate employment among British citizens.

Immigration enforcement officers prepare to raid a house in Southall on May 21, 2015 in London (Photo by AFP)

In a referendum held on June 23, nearly 52 percent of British voters opted to leave the EU, a decision that sent shock waves throughout the world.

May has promised to begin the Brexit process in March and complete it by 2019. However, those plans were delayed when the UK High Court required a parliamentary vote for triggering Article 50.

Shortly after she became the prime minister, she vowed to get net migration down to the tens of thousands only as it currently stands at 333,000.

May said during a parliament meeting once that “the vote that was taken in this country on June 23 sent a clear message that people want control of free movement from the European Union.”

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