Increasing costs to councils
The cost of providing accommodation and financial support to NRPF households continued to rise as councils reported a combined £77.9m in spend - a 22% increase from the end of 2021/22, far above inflation.
The rise appears to be driven by increasing per-case costs, particularly for adults with care and support needs.
Number of households on long-term support remain high despite immigration resolutions
Following our 2021/22 recommendations, in January 2023 the Home Office NRPF team began a review of the immigration cases of households that had been supported for 1000 days or more.
Despite the success of this review in resolving many long-standing claims, as more cases crossed the 1,000-day threshold the overall number of long-standing cases remained the same.
Grants of leave to remain still the most common reason for case closure
64% of adults and 77% of families who exited support did so following a grant of leave to remain.
This demonstrates that the majority of people and children supported by councils have a long-term future in the UK.
EU-exit still impacting social care services
EU nationals and people with EU-related leave, including pre-settled status, continue to make up a significant portion of NRPF households supported by councils: 24% of adults with care needs and 19% of families.
Councils received just under 1,000 new referrals for this group in 2022/23.
Councils not fully recording support for adults with care and support needs
Adult social care reported a 37% rise in the cost of providing accommodation and financial support to adults with NRPF from the end of 2021/22, to £24.4m.
However, with only 53 out of 82 councils recording financial data for adults, it is highly likely that this group remains significantly underreported.
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