High Court today rules that the ‘no recourse to public funds’ (NRPF) policy is driving families with children into destitution and breaches the government’s legal duty to safeguard children’s welfare.
A 5-year-old boy and his Zimbabwean-born mother have won their High Court challenge to the Home Office’s ‘no recourse to public funds’ policy, which denies families like theirs access to the welfare safety net.
In a substantial judgment, Lady Justice Laing and Mr Justice Lane found that the policy is unlawful because it disregards the government’s statutory duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, and must be overhauled.
The Immigration Rules (which set out the NRPF policy) are expected to be amended as a result, meaning more children with low-earning migrant parents will be allowed access to essential state support, like Child Benefit and Universal Credit.
Mother and son in the case are not being named, and can only be identified as VW and ST, respectively.
VW is a former key worker, who lost her job during the pandemic as she had no one to look after her son, and fears that without state support they would be left destitute. She is a South African national and came to this country in 2004, and has been granted leave to remain in the UK. Her son is a British citizen. She was homeless at times during her pregnancy, but she and her son are now living in suitable accommodation close to ST’s school.
In response to the court’s judgment, VW said:
‘I have been living with the fear of being punished for needing to have recourse to public funds, and I am glad it is now all over. I hope that other children will not have to grow up in poverty, as my child had to at times, simply because his mum is not British.’
The case is the second successful challenge against the Home Office’s punitive NRPF policy since lockdown. It follows last year’s judgment of the Divisional Court in R (W) v SSHD [2020] EWHC 1299 (Admin) where the Court found that the NRPF policy was unlawful due to its failure to prevent people falling into destitution, in breach of their right not to be subject to inhuman or degrading treatment under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (‘ECHR’).
The Unity Project supported the case through detailed evidence and research. We hope that this ruling brings about substantial change. We will continue to support people who are affected by the NRPF policy, highlight the policy’s devastating and discriminatory impact, and make the case for why it should be ended entirely.
VW’s solicitor, DPG partner Adam Hundt – who also brought the earlier successful challenge to the NRPF policy – says:
‘We hope the government will now listen to the courts and scrap this damaging and unnecessary policy completely, rather than continuing to tinker with the Immigration Rules in an attempt to make it marginally less punitive. This is a good result which will benefit many low-income families. However, we are disappointed that the court did not find that NRPF is unlawfully discriminatory, despite being provided with a wealth of evidence that the policy is racist because it disproportionately affects Black British children.’
I am a parent with NRPF – what does this mean for me?
-
If you are a parent with NRPF, this ruling means that the Home Office should carefully consider how the NRPF condition affects your children when you apply for Leave to Remain, or when you make a Change of Conditions application.
-
The Home Office should not give a parent NRPF if having NRPF would be harmful to their children (and it is always harmful to children in our experience). If this applies to you, you might be eligible to make a Change of Conditions application to remove the NRPF condition.
-
You can contact us for advice (we have written a detailed advice note for applicants/advisors).
-
[update Oct 2021 – the policy has now been updated to reflect the ruling]
More information
The full judgment (ST & Anor v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWHC 1085 (Admin)) is available here.
You can read more here: https://www.freemovement.org.uk/fresh-blow-to-no-recourse-to-public-funds-scheme/
For media enquiries, contact: Fiona Bawdon; fiona@impactsocialjustice.org
For advice and support in relation to the NRPF condition, including practical advice notes and template letters, contact us at The Unity Project.