Children in poverty: No recourse to public funds

Work and Pensions Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 28 Jul 2021 Closed: 21 Oct 2022 Parliament page
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 … Read more
14 Recommendations
8 Conclusions
1 Report
2 Oral sessions
2 Letters
2 Events
Activity timeline 8 events
13 Jun
2022
Report published
14 Apr
2022
Report published
23 Mar
2022
Correspondence
19 Jan
2022
Oral evidence
19 Jan
2022
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
17 Jan
2022
Correspondence
20 Oct
2021
Oral evidence
20 Oct
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 6, Palace of Westminster
Oral evidence sessions 2 sessions
19 Jan 2022
View on parliament.uk
Work and Pensions Committee
Alison Samedi · Home Office David Rutley · Department for Work and Pensions Tom Pursglove · Home Office Will Quince · Department for Education
20 Oct 2021
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Work and Pensions Committee
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
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Seventh Report - Children in poverty: No recourse to public funds HC 603 14 Apr 2022 22 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
6 results
Clear
8 Conclusion Rejected
Seventh Report - Children in pover…
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 … Read more
Government Response
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.
Department for Work and Pensions
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9 Recommendation Rejected
Seventh Report - Children in pover…
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
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.
Department for Work and Pensions
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10 Recommendation Rejected
Seventh Report - Children in pover…
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 … Read more
Government Response
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.
Department for Work and Pensions
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16 Recommendation Rejected
Seventh Report - Children in pover…
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 … Read more
Government Response
The government will not publish the minutes of the NRPF Forum meetings, but minutes and action logs are shared with members.
Department for Work and Pensions
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19 Conclusion Rejected
Seventh Report - Children in pover…
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 … Read more
Government Response
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.
Department for Work and Pensions
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20 Recommendation Rejected
Seventh Report - Children in pover…
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 … Read more
Government Response
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.
Department for Work and Pensions
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Government Response AI assessment · 22 of 14 classified
Accepted 3
Accepted in Part 3
Acknowledged 9
Deferred 1
Rejected 6
Total 14 recs + 8 conclusions
Correspondence 2 letters
23 Mar 2022 Correspondence with the DWP, DfE and Home Office about Children in poverty: No recourse to public funds
Parliament page
17 Jan 2022 To committee Letter from the DWP, DfE and Home Office regarding Children in poverty: No recourse to public funds dated 6 January 2022
Parliament page