unemployed

"A lot of them are paying very much to go to the UK, a lot of them are leaving families behind because they are unemployed men."

Some of the reforms to the welfare system have already been announced and include plans to use 1,000 work coaches to help the long-term unemployed into work.

But others also blame interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa, saying he dismantled Syria's security, army and police establishments with no clear strategy for dealing with thousands of officers and personnel left unemployed.

Ministers, facing potential cuts of billions of pounds from the welfare budget, have announced plans to use 1,000 work coaches to help the long-term unemployed into work.

Other experts place the emphasis on financial incentives in the welfare system - where people can get higher payments for being on sickness benefits than from being unemployed or in low-paid, part-time work.