Two recent reports find NRPF leads to protracted chronic food insecurity
Two reports released last month by The Food Foundation and the University of Hertfordshire highlight how migrants in the UK with 'no recourse to public funds' (NRPF) due to their immigration status are being left unable to afford or access sufficient amounts of quality food.
The Food Foundation's 15-page Immigration Policy and Food Insecurity in the UK can be downloaded here, and the 30-page Hostile Environments: Immigration and Food Poverty in the UK by the University of Hertfordshire is available here.
As the reports note, there are approximately 1.4 million people in the UK with NRPF as a condition of their valid visa. Previous research has found that families on low incomes are disproportionately affected by NRPF policies, and this impact is further exacerbated for black and ethnic minority populations, those with disabilities, single parents, women and children.
The University of Hertfordshire's report was commissioned by The Food Foundation and is based on interviews and focus groups carried out with 13 families living with NRPF, and with staff at 17 support services and third-sector organisations from across the UK, including food banks, community centres and advice and casework services.
The Food Foundation says the research revealed that not only were families with NRPF struggling to access healthy food, but they were also unable to access a sufficient amount of any food, a circumstance which was having "devastating effects on quality of life."
In its 15-page report, The Food Foundation summarises how the challenges of living with NRPF place families in food insecurity, with repercussions for their physical health, mental health and social well-being.
"The experiences of families with NRPF tell us how a complex immigration system leads to protracted chronic food insecurity; how eating a healthy diet becomes deprioritised compared to more immediate challenges, such as hunger and poor mental health; how inadequate and temporary shared housing conditions compromise families' ability to store and cook enough food; and how food (especially fresh, culturally appropriate food) is unaffordable, with many families relying on foodbanks and charitable support," The Food Foundation said.
The three key findings from The Food Foundation's report are as follows:
- A complex and lengthy immigration system requires substantial effort, time and engagement, negatively impacting individuals' mental health, and making food a secondary concern.
- Financial instability and poverty, from low wages or not having the legal right to work, means families and individuals lack the time to cook and cannot afford to buy enough of the food they want or need.
- Living in insecure and poor quality housing, often with unsuitable or no kitchen facilities, limits families' and individuals' ability to store, prepare and cook meals.
The report by the University of Hertfordshire provides more details on those findings and on the general challenges of NRPF. It notes: "Living with 'No Recourse to Public Funds' (NRPF) can be characterised as a perpetual indeterminate state or a type of 'limbo', during which uncertainty, hostility and hardship are endured. […] This system … necessitates the ongoing long-term intervention and support of charities and advocacy groups. […] The combination of being simultaneously in the hands of the Home Office and dependent on charities or community groups for essentials (for months or years at a time) had a devastating impact on quality of life and mental health. Participants described the toll that living with constant pressure, uncertainty and hardship took on them. This made it more difficult for mothers to care for their children in the way that they wanted to. They worried constantly about how their anxiety and depression was associated with their situation and how it would negatively impact their children."
Having to use food banks was found to be a defining characteristic of having NRPF. Families interviewed for the report were very clear about how having NRPF had led them to use food banks, which severely compromised the quality of their own and their children's diets.
The report states: "Gratitude and appreciation were consistently expressed by families for the help that they had received from these organisations. They were described as life savers. However, the food on offer at food banks was far from ideal for an overall nutritious diet, for example tinned and dried food, with little fresh produce. For recent migrants, the challenges this posed were amplified. They found themselves reliant on food banks for most of their food, unable to prepare the donated food they received because they did not have adequate preparation space, storage facilities or resources."
Particular distress was caused for parents by not being able to feed their children healthy, freshly prepared meals appropriate to their cultural upbringing. Parents said it was upsetting to watch their children struggling or refusing to eat unfamiliar and unhealthy foods.
One single mother with two children explained: "[S]ometimes my son will say, mummy, I don't want to eat pasta. But that's what I have to offer, so I feel bad for him sometimes, but we just have to eat it […] I would say it's the most - it's terrible, it's frustrating, it's hard, because why you can't do, you can't do work, you can't buy the food you want. You can't eat what you want to eat."
According to the University of Hertfordshire researchers, the 'emergency' foodbank model is not appropriate for those with NRPF, as the condition can last for months or years, and families with NRPF need more than the typical food parcel limit imposed by most food banks.
Based on the findings of the report, The Food Foundation makes a number of recommendations to the government to address the needs of migrants with NRPF.
"Immediate policy interventions must be taken to increase the support available to families with NRPF and mitigate food insecurity, alongside the broader changes to immigration policy and housing needed to address the long-term destitution and insecurity these families face," The Food Foundation's report concludes.
Anna Taylor, executive director of The Food Foundation, said: "Although migrants invariably make a positive contribution to society, many are placed into conditions of prolonged misery. One of the primary objectives of The Food Foundation is to raise awareness of the need for a healthy, nutritious diet for everyone and that includes migrants. As well as access to food, people need access to housing and work. We hope government policy advisors will take to heart the findings of this report and move swiftly to ensure a safety net is put in place."