Recommendation 21

HM Government Acknowledged

The Government is committed to protecting vulnerable people and has ensured support has been available to those with NRPF when it has been appropriate to do so. For example, to ensure everyone was supported through COVID-19, many of the wide- ranging coronavirus measures put in place were available to people with NRPF. This included the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Self-employed Income Support Scheme. Support of over £13 billion of funding was directly allocated to local authorities in England to help councils manage the impacts of COVID-19 and respond to the spending pressures they faced. Over £6 billion of this was unringfenced in recognition that local authorities are best placed to decide how to meet the major COVID-19 pressures in their local area. The Government has also recently announced the Energy Rebate Scheme to help families with the rising cost of energy prices. Support within this scheme has also been made available to those with NRPF. The Home Office continues to review the impacts of the NRPF policy and is currently exploring the use and delivery of local welfare payments. In order to be granted leave to enter or remain in the UK, the vast majority of people are required to demonstrate, as part of their application, that they can maintain and support themselves and their families without recourse to public funds. Local authorities should only offer assistance in limited circumstances as a last resort. The Government’s focus is to ensure that most people are able to support themselves and their families through paid employment, without reliance on government support. The UK labour market statistics on vacancies shows, as of March 2022, there were 1,288,000 vacancies on the market. However, where individual circumstances change and financial support is required, there is the provision for those with leave under the Family, Private life and Human Rights routes that engage Article 8 of the ECHR, and those who have been granted leave under the Hong Kong BN(O) route, to apply, for free, to have their NRPF condition lifted by making a ‘change of conditions’ application. They can apply if they are destitute or at risk of imminent destitution, if the welfare of their child is at risk due to their low income, or where there are other exceptional financial circumstances For those on other immigration routes such as work or study, the general expectation is that they will return to their home country should they become unable to meet their essential needs in the UK. The Voluntary Returns Service (VRS) can provide practical support to assist those who wish to return but have no means of doing so, or who need some assistance to return to their home country. Those eligible for VRS include those here illegally, overstayers, those who wish to withdraw their application to leave to remain and those who are confirmed victims of modern slavery. The Home Office provides a range of services to support local authorities to understand and discharge their duties in line with their legal obligations. The Home Office provides immigration status information via NRPF Connect which enables member local authorities to quickly establish eligibility for services. On-site Immigration Officials provide dedicated support to local authorities, on a cost recovery basis and at their request, to assist in their understanding of entitlement rules, immigration status and processes. Local Partnership Managers facilitate the sharing of information and good practice amongst local authorities through engagement activities and attendance at regional NRPF meetings structured within the Strategic Migration Partnership network. The Home Office will continue to work closely with local authorities and other partners. Once again, we would like to thank you for the time you have invested in this inquiry and for the evidence you have collected to inform this report. We trust that our response is helpful.