NRPF Connect

NRPF Connect is a secure online database that enables a council to:

• Obtain immigration status information from the Home Office in compliance with data protection legislation to help identify a person’s support options and whether the exclusion to social services’ support applies
• Achieve expedient case resolution by using information provided by the Home Office to identify when households receiving support need to be assisted to access legal advice and/or to work with the Home Office to fulfil its commitment to prioritise decision making
• Have oversight of family, adult, looked after children, and care leaver caseloads for performance management purposes and financial forecasting.
• Identify presentations from people previously supported or supported by other councils using the system.
• Contribute to the only data source on NRPF service provision to evidence costs and pressures on budgets arising from lack of government funding and policies that lead to cost-shunts.

Collective data on NRPF Connect is reported on annually to monitor costs to local government and to identify trends nationally and regionally. This informs the recommendations that we make in the policy work that we undertake on behalf of councils. 

Read the data report for 2021-22.

If your council would benefit from a secure, data protection compliant service for managing cases and communicating with the Home Office, then you will need to:

• Decide which service option best suits your needs.
• Sign the NRPF Connect Access Agreement.
• Gather information about NRPF households the council is currently supporting. 
• Identify the staff who will have the responsibility for using the system and keeping data up-to-date in compliance with the Access Agreement.
• Receive in-house training on using the system.

 Contact us for more information about joining. 

The service level reflects the data-processing, status-checking, and user-support needs of a local authority, as determined by its case numbers (referrals and financially supported cases) or the number of access accounts it requires.

The annual user charge starts at £3030 with different levels available for councils with larger caseloads or where multiple services across the council require access.

View all service levels and costs here

We provide support to all users of NRPF Connect to help them get the most out of using the database. 

Please email nrpfconnect@islington.gov.uk if you have an enquiry about training or user support.

If you are experiencing technical issues, please contact the LoCTA support desk at: support@locta.co.uk

Users can access the user guide the top tips document and the detailed guide to recording immigration status documents for more information about how to create cases and communicate with the Home Office. 

The Service Level Agreement sets out the response timescales agreed with the Home Office including how often the council may request updates on pending claims.

82 councils are using the database across the UK, including 30 out of 33 London boroughs.

A survey we conducted in February 2021, found that 99% of respondents said they would recommend using NRPF Connect to other councils or teams. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive: respondents reported that the database was user-friendly, provided a vital communication link with the Home Office and served as an important tool that aided case resolution methods. The majority of people also agreed that the database allows for excellent oversight of both numbers of cases supported and associated costs. 

Key findings of the survey:

• 88% of people agreed or strongly agreed that NRPF Connect enabled them to have better communication with the Home Office.
• 86% of people rated the ease of using the system as good or very good.
• 78% of people rated the user support provided by the NRPF Network as good or very good.

See our full analysis of the survey, including how the NRPF Network and the Home Office will address recommendations for improvement.