However you organise NRPF services in your council, these are the things you need to know to maximise use of NRPF Connect for everyone’s benefit:
What can mangers do?
Collective data informs policy and funding recommendations to government for the benefit of all local authorities, is your data accurate?
- Contact us to request your individual local authority data reports.
Encourage teams to use NRPF Connect and record their cases on NRPF Connect.
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Use NRPF Connect excel reports and the Home Page performance report for monitoring and budget forecasting purposes.
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Consider the business case for ‘invest to save’ models of operation, including increasing staffing to manage this costly area of practice efficiently.
What can NRPF Connect users do?
- Keep data accurate! Including adding finance information for supported cases and closing cases when involvement ends.
- Review the 1000 day ‘priority’ cases (listed on the ‘home page’) –Are they already closed? If yes, please close them! If they are still in receipt of financial support - Do you need to refer them to immigration advice? Do you need to request the Home Office for an update?
- Allocate cases to yourself – it is so much easier to review cases if they are allocated to you, and it is easier for other users to get in contact with you about a case when needed.
How can I help Home Office case prioritisation processes?
The top tips for helping the NRPF Team at the Home Office operate an efficient service are:
- Use the Query function to request updates after the first status check is completed, thereby bringing attention of the Home Office team to the issues you are facing.
- Add finance information (for a case to be treated as a priority) and ensure dependants are recorded and the address is correct.
- Close cases when you are no longer involved.
- Be proactive in referring people to make applications to the Home Office: it is easier for the team to follow up with other Home Office teams when there is something for the Home Office to decide!
And what the Home Office NRPF Team will do for you!
- Provide the first manual immigration status check on new cases within the 5 working day SLA (if no digital status exists).
- Answer Queries within the 10-working day SLA
- Escalate cases that are recorded as financially supported with the relevant Home Office teams.
- Provide expert and detailed immigration information to support local authority assessment and signposting processes.
- Be tenacious in following up issues or learning from problems encountered.
- Operate the duty email line for urgent cases where same-day responses are required – but please observe the agreed protocol (as explained on NRPF Connect)
Anything the LA can do to follow best practice tips and keep communication with us focused on the most urgent matters is greatly appreciated. Avoiding bulk uploads of cases or queries really helps the team to manage demand as efficiently as possible!
Where to find more information about providing support to people with no recourse to public funds
- Attend your regional NRPF Network meetings to receive updates from the NRPF Network and Home Office, and to share practice and learning with local councils
And this work is complicated – so in all other situations – and for more information get in touch.
