Parliamentary committee hears harrowing testimony of struggles to afford food and necessities
The House of Commons Work and Pensions Select Committee last week published the report of its inquiry into how the 'no recourse to public funds' (NRPF) policy affects and contributes to children living in poverty.
Image credit: UK GovernmentYou can download the 57-page report here or read it online here.
As the Committee notes, there are no official figures on how many non-British nationals with leave to remain in the UK are subject to the NRPF condition. The Government told the Committee that "it is not practical for the Home Office to produce an estimate of the total population subject to NRPF present in the UK at any one time."
The Work and Pensions Committee called the lack of official data "shocking" and stressed that without accurate data, it is impossible for Government, local authorities and NGOs to cost and plan support for families with NRPF.
Oxford University's Migration Observatory has estimated that 175,634 children live in a family expected to have NRPF, while Citizens Advice estimated that there are 329,000 parents with NRPF.
In terms of the impact of the policy, the Committee's report finds that families with NRPF who are living in poverty face tough circumstances, and that this can be particularly challenging for children. Many parents struggle to feed their families and may be reliant on foodbanks and other community support to do so. With struggling families having no access to much of the social security system, the Covid-19 pandemic created further hardships.
The Committee's inquiry into NRPF heard evidence from NGOs, local authorities, and from parents who are subject to the condition. Key issues identified and detailed in the report include problems with housing, education, food, domestic violence, and childcare.
In particular, the testimonies of the parents had a significant impact on the Committee.
Stephen Timms MP, the Chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, said: "We have been moved by harrowing tales of parents and children being forced onto the streets and facing struggles to afford food and necessities, shut off from the help open to others who, like them, live and work legally in the UK. The devastating impacts of having no recourse to public funds hit home even harder during the pandemic."
Most notably, the Committee's report calls on the Government to change the NRPF policy so that parents are given access to the welfare system after maximum of five years, rather than the current ten years.
The report states: "The levels of deprivation children in poverty endure as a result of their parents being subject to the NRPF condition should not be allowed to dominate any childhood. Many parents will have NRPF for 10 years—much of a child's formative years. Given that parents could be without access to child-related benefits and other forms of social security for 10 years, children, many of which are or become British citizens, may spend the majority of their childhood living in poverty, which will have a negative impact on their development and adulthood. We recommend the Government significantly reduces the period for which children may be subjected to NRPF conditions. Parents with children should be given access to public funds after a maximum period of five years."
The Committee also calls on the Government to extend Child Benefit to all British children irrespective of their parents' immigration status. This is suggested as a more achievable alternative to widespread calls to end the policy. The report notes: "Most of those who gave evidence were keen to see an end to the no recourse to public funds condition. But we think the Government is unlikely to change this policy and such a change could result in fewer people bring granted visas to the UK. As an alternative, we have concluded that it is both affordable and appropriate for the Government to extend Child Benefit to all British children irrespective of their parents' immigration status. We recommend it does so as soon as possible."
On the plus side, the Committee was pleased by the Government's recent decision to permanently extended free school meal eligibility to children from all families with NRPF. The measure had been temporary during the Covid-19 pandemic, but was made permanent last month.
The Committee also welcomed the Home Office's change of policy to prevent transferring people to the 10-year route to settlement if they make a change of conditions application to receive pubic funds (see our February article here for background). The report notes, however, that this is only for families who are no longer accessing public funds when they apply for indefinite leave to remain, so this change is unlikely to benefit all families who have been living in poverty with NRPF.
"We recommend that people on the 5 year route to leave to remain are not moved onto the 10 year route following a successful application for a change of conditions, even if they are still accessing public funds when they apply for settlement. We further recommend that the Home Office urgently updates its website with guidance on this policy change," the Committee said.
Many parents who gave evidence to the Work and Pensions Select Committee's inquiry highlighted the vital assistance of charities in making a successful change of conditions application. With this in mind, the report recommends that the Government fund independent support for change of conditions applications.
A clear process for applicants to challenge a change of conditions refusal is also needed, the Committee finds.