Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 5
5
The Department has provided mixed messages to local authorities on how to support people sleeping...
Recommendation
The Department has provided mixed messages to local authorities on how to support people sleeping rough who have no recourse to public funds, and has no long-term plan for those who have been taken into hotels. Local authorities are generally not permitted to support non-UK nationals who legally have no recourse to public funds, or are otherwise ineligible for benefits, other than where there is a risk to life. At the outset of the pandemic the Department provided clear advice that, because of the risks to public health, local authorities should provide accommodation for all people sleeping rough irrespective of immigration status. Over the course of the year, however, the messaging it provided to local authorities became more ambiguous, and the approach they took to these cohorts of people became increasingly divergent. In particular, it appears that local authorities in London and the West Midlands are facing practical and financial difficulties regarding their support for these cohorts, with around 50% of those staying in hotels in London being recorded as having no recourse to public funds at the beginning of winter 2020–21. The Department has not been able to say what actions local authorities should take with respect to this cohort of people once the pandemic has abated, nor has it provided clarity on the implications of its recent work with the Home Office on plans to address immigration issues related to rough sleeping. The Department must do more to support those with no recourse to public-funds. Recommendation: Within two months the Department should publish details of its agreed plans with the Home Office to address rough sleeping and immigration issues together, and provide clear guidance to local authorities on what this means for the support they offer this cohort, including those staying in hotels under Everyone In.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
5.1 The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. 5.2 The government is fully committed to ending rough sleeping. The department will be working with partners across government to build on recent progress and consider what more needs to be done to end rough sleeping, which will consider the role of immigration policy and practice. 5.3 This will build on work, such as the Rough Sleeping Support Service, which has been established by the Home Office to help destitute individuals access support and resolve their immigration status. 5.4 In the meantime, the department continues to work with the Home Office on all other immigration issues affecting rough sleepers. 5.5 The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. 5.6 The department has and continues to work with local authorities regarding support that can be offered to those individuals with a no recourse to public funds (NRPF) attached to their immigration status. Ultimately, these are locally elected councils and it is a matter for them to decide based on their local circumstances. 5.7 On 28 May 2020 and 8 January 2021, the department wrote to all chief executives of local authorities making clear that the rules as to eligibility relating to immigration status, including for those with NRPF, have not changed. The department’s position remains that local authorities must continue to use their judgement in assessing what support they may lawfully give to each person on an individual basis, considering that person's specific circumstances and support needs. The department is clear that the responsibility for making individual judgements lies with local authorities, as it has done for many years. 5.8 This legal position is applicable to support offered to individuals with NRPF both within and outside of hotels under Everyone In.