Policy of no recourse to public funds for some immigrants makes their children second-class citizens, says study

An immigration policy that denies British children access to basic support has turned them into second-class citizens and is leading to malnourishment, sickness and a range of mental health problems, according to new research.

The little-known policy – no recourse to public funds (NRPF)– was widened by Theresa May in 2012 when she was home secretary to cover more categories of migrants. It not only denies benefits and support to those the Home Office wants to return to their home countries, but even to some people who are granted permission to live and work in the UK.

And a new report by the charity Unity Project, which supports people with NRPF status, and the solicitors Deighton Pierce Glynn has highlighted that in many cases this means that British children living in poverty – who may even have a British parent – are being denied access to crucial benefits, including social housing and free school meals.

The study of 276 cases sourced from seven organisations found that 89% of the families examined had at least one British child. 95% of the group are from ethnic minority, mostly black backgrounds. The report says the policy is having such disastrous effects it should be scrapped.

The British children’s nationality is often the result of having one British parent – who in many cases may no longer be present in the household or supporting the child. Because only adults can claim public funds, they are excluded from most benefits by their parents’ status.

Adam Hundt, a partner at Deighton Pierce Glynn, says that the 2012 policy change has left tens of thousands of people, mainly families headed by single mothers with British children, in abject poverty.

While not everyone denied access to public funds lives below the poverty line, the research focused on cases where families had either applied to get the restriction overturned because of the dire poverty they were experiencing or had sought support from charities because they were struggling to survive.

British families in extreme poverty have access to benefits including tax credits and free school meals. Children with no recourse to public funds cannot access these benefits.

In one family, a single mother of an eight-year-old boy had just £15 a week to feed herself and her son after paying rent and bus fares. The boy is British because he has a British father who is not currently living in the UK and is not providing any child support. The boy’s mother is Jamaican and has leave to remain but no recourse to public funds. This restriction therefore applies to her British son.

The report’s findings show:

85% of those seeking to overturn their NRPF-status are single mothers

52% were forced to sleep on the floor or on a chair

94% could not afford to celebrate their children’s birthdays and other special occasions

74% had at least one day where they couldn’t afford to give their children a hot, nutritious meal

6% had experienced living on the street with their children

38% had their education interrupted because of their circumstances

Kate Osamor, Labour MP and chair of the all-party parliamentary group on NRPF, said she was not shocked by the findings but was “incensed”.

“The data and stories in the report corroborate the information that I have received from charities assisting families with no recourse to public funds,” she said. “I have heard firsthand testimonies from women forced to stay in abusive relationships because they have nowhere to turn.”

Caz Hattam from the Unity Project said: “The policy is creating second-class citizens, the majority of whom are BME. We’re seeing children in Britain growing up in abject poverty because the Home Office is barring their parents from claiming any kind of state support, including child tax credits or in-work benefits. Whole families are sleeping on the floor or on sofas. These children might never have had a birthday cake or been on a school trip.”

Hundt took one case to the high court earlier this year involving a British child with a Ghanaian mother who works as a school cleaner on a zero-hours contract earning £276.74 per month.

At the hearing the Home Office agreed to launch a review of its entire NRPF policy rather than have the full hearing go ahead.

A Home Office spokesperson said that the welfare of children is “one of our top priorities” and said that the immigration system “will always protect families with children from becoming destitute.”

The spokesperson added: “Support will never be withheld if the welfare of a child is at risk due to a family’s financial circumstances.”He said that the high court litigation had been settled and that the Home Office would undertake a review.

‘It was just impossible for us to survive’

Fiona Ferguson works as a prosecutor for the National Probation Service and is based at Wimbledon magistrates court. One morning, arriving at work early, as she often does, she witnessed one of the cleaners there collapse.

Rushing to assist, Ferguson discovered that the woman, who had been cleaning the court for 12 years, employed by Ministry of Justice sub-contractor Mitie, had collapsed because she was weak from hunger. Ferguson gave her some food and learned that the woman had been granted limited leave to remain with NRPF. She could only work part-time because she had to look after her eight-year-old son and collect him from school and was struggling to pay rent, bus fares and find enough money to feed both of them.

She has been in the UK for 18 years and gave birth to her son in 2010. The father is British but left the UK in 2016, leaving her and her child with no access to benefits.

“It was just impossible for us to survive,” said Yvonne (not her real name). “I had £15 a week left to feed both myself and my son. We had to live on rice and tinned sardines and cheese and biscuits.”

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Ferguson advised Yvonne to present herself and her son at her local council homeless unit to ask for support. But Yvonne left when the council told her they could not help her but would take her son into care because of the level of poverty both were experiencing.

“Why would the council countenance removing a child into care rather than assisting with housing?” said Ferguson. With assistance from Ferguson and her local MP, who also provided some emergency food for mother and son, Yvonne finally got her NRPF restriction overturned and, while both she and her son are still struggling, being able to access in-work benefits and free school meals has helped to improve their situation.