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

6 items
8 Conclusion Seventh Report - Children in poverty: N… Rejected

The levels of deprivation children in poverty endure as a result of their parents being...

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 … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government has no plans to shorten the maximum period of time spent subject to NRPF for families with children, as those migrating to the UK are generally expected to maintain and support themselves and any accompanying family without reliance on the UK’s welfare system.
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Department for Work and Pensions
9 Recommendation Seventh Report - Children in poverty: N… Rejected

We recommend the Government significantly reduces the period for which children may be subjected to...

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.

Government response AI summary
The government does not plan to shorten the maximum period of time spent subject to NRPF for families with children, stating those migrating to the UK are generally expected to maintain and support themselves and any accompanying family without reliance on the UK’s welfare system.
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Department for Work and Pensions
10 Recommendation Seventh Report - Children in poverty: N… Rejected

Most of those who gave evidence were keen to see an end to the no...

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 … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government does not accept the recommendation to extend Child Benefit to all British children irrespective of their parents’ immigration status, arguing that existing provisions cover eligible families and that those without indefinite leave to remain should be able to support themselves.
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Department for Work and Pensions
16 Recommendation Seventh Report - Children in poverty: N… Rejected

We are pleased to hear that the Government’s NRPF forum is regularly receiving feedback on...

We are pleased to hear that the Government’s NRPF forum is regularly receiving feedback on the change of conditions process. We recommend that the work of the Government’s NRPF Forum is more transparent and readily available to stakeholders. We ask the Government to publish the number of times the NRPF … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government will not publish the minutes of the NRPF Forum meetings, but minutes and action logs are shared with members.
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Department for Work and Pensions
19 Conclusion Seventh Report - Children in poverty: N… Rejected

Thousands of families with NRPF are supported by local authorities under Section 17 every year,...

Thousands of families with NRPF are supported by local authorities under Section 17 every year, with costs running into the tens of millions. We are concerned that this indicates that the mechanisms used to support households in poverty with no recourse to public funds does not represent value for money … Read more

Government response AI summary
The Home Office does not plan to carry out a cost-benefit analysis on NRPF because it would not be feasible to do so meaningfully.
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Department for Work and Pensions
20 Recommendation Seventh Report - Children in poverty: N… Rejected

We are concerned that it is not cost effective for local authorities to operate their...

We are concerned that it is not cost effective for local authorities to operate their own alternative welfare system, and that support for families is inconsistent across the UK. We recommend that the Government carry out an analysis of whether it would be more cost effective for families with NRPF … Read more

Government response AI summary
The Home Office does not plan to carry out a cost-benefit analysis on NRPF because it would not be feasible to do so meaningfully due to practicalities around estimating the total population subject to NRPF present in the UK at any one time.
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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…