The Home Office has published Cross Government Guidance for local authorities and councils in England on rights and entitlements to service and support for migrants subject to a No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition, following a committment made in the child poverty strategy to 'provide clarity around the statutory duties to support those most in need'.
The new guidance includes information about:
- How immigration status affects access public funds and how status can be clarified
- Benefit entitlement for people with leave granted under the EU Settlement Scheme
- Statutory duties to support people with no recourse to public funds, including section 17 of the Children Act 1989 (‘section17’) and the Care Act 2014
- Discretionary powers and limitations in offering support
The cross-government guidance is a welcome first step in acknowledging the essential role councils play in delivering support to safeguard children, their families, and adults with care needs from homelessness and destitution.
Although the guidance consolidates useful information and enhances understanding of what services and support may be available to residents with no recourse to public funds, the government still needs to continue to bring greater clarity to this area of social work practice by comprehensively defining how section 17 and Care Act duties apply to families and individuals with no recourse to public funds within Working Together to Safeguard Children and the Care and Support Statutory guidance.
However, the £94m funding gap reported by 91 councils in 2024-25, and negative impacts of immigration policies, will not be addressed through guidance alone. As the government proposes changes to settlement routes and asylum support that are likely to give rise to more people with no recourse to public funds experiencing destitution and homelessness, many of the challenges councils experience delivering this vital support will remain. Alongside guidance, the government must fund councils and consider how our other recommendations can be implemented to address the long-term nature of support and protect children and adults with care needs from destitution.
Councils can refer to our detailed practice guidance for more information about supporting families and adults with care needs who have no recourse to public funds.