Select Committee · Work and Pensions Committee

Children in poverty: No recourse to public funds

Status: Closed Opened: 28 Jul 2021 Closed: 21 Oct 2022 14 recommendations 8 conclusions 1 report

This inquiry is looking at children in poverty. This is a complex subject, so the Committee’s work will be in several parts. For the second part of the inquiry, we are looking at the experiences of children who have no recourse to public funds (NRPF). Read the call for evidence to find out more about … Show more

Clear

Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Seventh Report - Children in poverty: No recourse to public… HC 603 14 Apr 2022 22 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

9 items
1 Conclusion Seventh Report - Children in poverty: N… Acknowledged

We are very pleased that the Government has now permanently extended free school meal eligibility...

We are very pleased that the Government has now permanently extended free school meal eligibility to children from all families with NRPF. We heard repeatedly from parents and organisations about the positive impact this would have on children in poverty, their long-term prospects and ability to contribute to the UK. Read more

Government response AI summary
The Government thanks the Committee for the time and effort invested in conducting an inquiry into child poverty and publishing the ‘Children in poverty: No recourse to public funds report’.
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Department for Work and Pensions
3 Conclusion Seventh Report - Children in poverty: N… Acknowledged

We heard worrying evidence about the impact of the NRPF condition on survivors of domestic...

We heard worrying evidence about the impact of the NRPF condition on survivors of domestic violence, including children. We are pleased that the Government has launched the Support for Migrant Victims Scheme pilot, in addition to the support offered through the Destitution Domestic Violence Concession. We are, however, concerned the … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government stated its commitment to supporting all victims of domestic abuse and providing support through the Destitute Domestic Violence Concession and the Support for Migrant Victims pilot, and that £1.4 million will be provided in 2022-23 to continue to fund support for migrant victims …
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Department for Work and Pensions
5 Recommendation Seventh Report - Children in poverty: N… Acknowledged

We are pleased that the Government is contemplating and planning to consult on whether all...

We are pleased that the Government is contemplating and planning to consult on whether all children from families with NRPF should have access to the two- year-old entitlement. We believe that parents with NRPF have been prevented from working as much as they can to relieve financial pressures on their … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government noted the consultation on extending the two-year-old entitlement to children from families with NRPF, stating it opened on 25 March 2022 and closed on 20 May 2022, but does not explicitly commit to extending the entitlement.
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Department for Work and Pensions
7 Conclusion Seventh Report - Children in poverty: N… Acknowledged

We welcome this recognition from the Government that 10 years is an excessively long period...

We welcome this recognition from the Government that 10 years is an excessively long period for a young person to wait for indefinite leave to remain, and access to public funds, and that five years is a more appropriate period.

Government response AI summary
The Home Office has recently introduced Appendix Private Life to the Immigration Rules, bringing the concession on early settlement introduced on 20 October 2021 into the Immigration Rules.
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Department for Work and Pensions
12 Conclusion Seventh Report - Children in poverty: N… Acknowledged

The Home Office does not collect sufficient data on the number of families with NRPF.

The Home Office does not collect sufficient data on the number of families with NRPF. Whilst we appreciate that the Home Office is attempting to improve its data collection, NRPF is not a new policy and it is shocking that the Government is unable to provide Parliament with an estimate … Read more

Government response AI summary
The Home Office is committed to continuing to improve the data that is published on NRPF and will explore further data availability on NRPF and on migrant poverty, including on children in poverty, while recognizing the challenges posed in identifying and gathering the relevant data.
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Department for Work and Pensions
13 Recommendation Seventh Report - Children in poverty: N… Acknowledged

We recommend the Home Office collect and publish data on the number of people with...

We recommend the Home Office collect and publish data on the number of people with NRPF attached to their limited leave to remain in the UK. The Home Office should also invest time and resource into establishing the number of British children affected by NRPF. We recommend the Government use … Read more

Government response AI summary
The Home Office is committed to continuing to improve the data that is published on NRPF and will further explore data availability on NRPF and on migrant poverty, including on children in poverty, while recognising the challenges posed in identifying and gathering the relevant data.
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Department for Work and Pensions
14 Conclusion Seventh Report - Children in poverty: N… Acknowledged

We are pleased that the Home Office has changed its policy to prevent those on...

We are pleased that the Home Office has changed its policy to prevent those on the 5 year route from being automatically transferred to the 10 year route in the event of a successful change of condition application. However, this is only for families who are no longer accessing public … Read more

Government response AI summary
The Home Office has suspended the practice of moving an applicant that has received recourse to public funds off the five-year route to settlement, but the ability for an applicant to be able to support themselves without recourse to public funds is a key strand …
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Department for Work and Pensions
21 Conclusion Seventh Report - Children in poverty: N… Acknowledged

Discretionary welfare funds are a public fund and therefore largely inaccessible to people with NRPF,...

Discretionary welfare funds are a public fund and therefore largely inaccessible to people with NRPF, however, the guidance the Government provides to local authorities has caused confusion and many families have not received additional support.

Government response AI summary
The government stated its commitment to protecting vulnerable people and ensured support has been available to those with NRPF, highlighting COVID-19 measures, funding to local authorities, and the Energy Rebate Scheme, and that the Home Office supports local authorities in understanding their duties.
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Department for Work and Pensions
22 Recommendation Seventh Report - Children in poverty: N… Acknowledged

We recommend the Government provide additional support to local authorities in areas with large NRPF...

We recommend the Government provide additional support to local authorities in areas with large NRPF populations through direct and targeted funding. We further recommend the Government consider reclassifying discretionary welfare payments, so they are excluded from the ‘public funds’ definition used for NRPF purposes, rather than asking local authorities to … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government stated its commitment to protecting vulnerable people and ensured support has been available to those with NRPF, highlighting COVID-19 measures, funding to local authorities, and the Energy Rebate Scheme, and that the Home Office supports local authorities in understanding their duties.
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Department for Work and Pensions

Oral evidence sessions

2 sessions
Date Witnesses
19 Jan 2022 Alison Samedi · Home Office, David Rutley · Department for Work and Pensions, Tom Pursglove · Home Office, Will Quince · Department for Education View ↗
20 Oct 2021 Azmina Siddique · The Children's Society, Catherine Houlcroft · NRPF Network, Caz Hattam · The Unity Project, Christianah Awodiji · Manchester Local Care Organisation, Cllr Jasmine Ali · Southwark Council, Leah Arnold · City of Wolverhampton Council, Morgan Wild · Citizens Advice, Penny Ademuyiwa · North Kent, Susanne Millar · Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership View ↗

Who gave evidence

13 witnesses
WitnessOrganisationSessions
Alison Samedi · Deputy Director, Compliant Environment and Enforc… Home Office 1
Azmina Siddique · Policy and Research Manager The Children's Society 1
Catherine Houlcroft · Principal Projects Officer NRPF Network 1
Caz Hattam · Coordinator The Unity Project 1
Christianah Awodiji · Team Manager NRPF Manchester Local Care Organisation 1
Cllr Jasmine Ali · Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children, Yo… Southwark Council 1
David Rutley · Minister for Welfare Delivery Department for Work and Pensions 1
Leah Arnold · Service Manager, Strengthening Families City of Wolverhampton Council 1
Morgan Wild · Head of Policy Citizens Advice 1
Penny Ademuyiwa · Assistant Director North Kent 1
Susanne Millar · Chief Officer Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership 1
Tom Pursglove · Minister of State for Legal Migration and the Bor… Home Office 1
Will Quince · Minister for Children and Families Department for Education 1

Correspondence

2 letters
DateDirectionTitle
23 Mar 2022 Correspondence with the DWP, DfE and Home Office about Children in poverty: No …
17 Jan 2022 To cttee Letter from the DWP, DfE and Home Office regarding Children in poverty: No reco…