18 Not Addressed

At out evidence session the Department was unable to answer several of our queries about...

Conclusion
At out evidence session the Department was unable to answer several of our queries about these cohorts. It told us it believed that people sleeping rough with no recourse to public funds would be eligible to receive vaccinations against COVID-19, but that it was not leading on this issue, and had not focused on these cohorts in particular in planning for people sleeping rough to be vaccinated.71 The Department did not have any information about how much money local authorities had spent on supporting these cohorts since the start of the pandemic.72 Nor did it have any data on how many from these cohorts was currently being supported in emergency accommodation.73 Once the immediate threat to life had lifted, the Department suggested there might be a range of options available to local authorities to support people who had been staying in emergency accommodation, but it was unable to provide general advice on what local authorities could lawfully do.74 The Department did not provide us with any details when we asked about what would change as a result of the joint planning it has been carrying out with the Home Office to help end rough sleeping among the non-UK population.75 Rough Sleeper Accommodation Programme
Government Response Summary
The government disagrees with the committee's observations but does not address the highlighted lack of data or information regarding NRPF cohorts. It instead reiterates its commitment to ending rough sleeping, ongoing work with the Home Office, and existing legal frameworks for local authority support to NRPF individuals.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government Not Addressed
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.
Addressee Bodies
HM Treasury
Timeline
Recommendation age 5.4 yrs
Report published 17 Mar 2021